Outcast
by Ruthlyn
Summary: Natos is an assassin, about to become entrenched in a new and dangerous way of life, from which there is no escape. Karina is a married woman who embarrassed her wealthy husband and was unceremoniously dumped on the street, forced to fend for herself. They have nothing in common except for their sudden chance, however unplanned, to create new futures for themselves.
1. Prologue

_My dear friend,_

_I dare not address your name on this letter, in order that you remain safe, lest my words never reach you._

_I hope you have heard by now, as I would not want you to find out this way. Regrettably, I have no choice but to write to you concerning this matter. Even now I am dying from a complication that arose during the birth of my son. The doctors foresaw it immediately, and have confirmed that nothing can be done._

_They wouldn't let me see my baby, wouldn't let me name him, and most certainly would not let me assign him a proper home to be raised in. They already have plans for him._

_I have spoken of this to you before. It is Morroc's own Class of Morano—a guild that most know by their historic battles with ancient threats to Midgard. However, in more recent years, they have become a guild full of killers-for-hire, nothing more. This may be an unknown fact outside of our town, and even rarely known within our walls, but I have seen the evidence with my own eyes._

_Unfortunately, they have an agreement with the government of Morroc to take in any orphans they choose, usually every male child. They raise them to be killers and crooks, and train them as assassins, in job and in duty. I guarantee this is what they will do with my son._

_However, I have plans for him as well. I am loath to involve you in this, but you can see I have little choice. You must find my son and extract him from the guild. It will not be easy; they are a guarded and cruel order, but you must remove him from their grasp. And it must be done before his eighteenth birthday, as that is when he will be fully inducted and forced to murder for them. Pastor Lede, at the church in Morroc—tell him what I fear for my son, and he will help you._

_You are the only person I trust to do this, and I know that if you manage to save him, you will raise him as I had intended. He will be inclined to follow a path of godliness if given the chance, because it is in his heart. It is the one thing I could do for my son._

_Do not mourn me, friend, for I know where my home is. My only fear is that I will not see my son there someday. No matter what the Class of Morano does to him, I know you can save him. Please, do not let them have him._

_Until the day we meet again,  
Anwen

* * *

_A thunderous bellow broke the silence of a cold morning. In the wealthy part of Al de Baran, such a sound was strange and rare.

The front door of a large, stately manor swung open, and a woman tumbled out into the street. She attempted to right herself and turn back to face the door, only to be stopped by a heavy boot pressing its weight down on her back.

"Husband, please!" she pleaded piteously.

"Don't you call me that!" he roared. "You have disgraced our marriage!"

"I'm sorry," she cried, tears dripping onto the pavement. "Please…I'm sorry!"

"You have embarrassed me, my dear," the man sneered. "I do not take that lightly. You will not come back here; I do not want to see your deceitful face again."

The woman attempted one last time to get back into her home. Her husband had already turned to walk back into the house, so she turned to face the door.

"I love you," she whispered, loudly enough for him to hear. From her position, kneeling on the ground, she raised her left arm to him, hoping he would accept her pleas and take pity on her.

On the contrary, those words fell upon his ears and turned his anger to fury. With one swift movement, he drew his sword and spun to face her, swinging the weapon around with him. The woman screamed in pain and shock as her left hand fell to the ground in front of her.


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: Two years after first posting the prologue, I am finally done with the story. I have replaced the old prologue with an updated version. Not much has changed, but I want to be sure that it has all the minor changes I have made to it over the years. I will be posting chapters regularly now, and I would appreciate feedback on what is probably my most intensive story ever.

* * *

_"Look at that guy. His pouch is hanging out there like he doesn't care if every zeny he owns is stolen."

"No. He just hasn't considered the possibility."

"Stupid."

"Naïve. There's a difference. Look at his face; he's oblivious."

"Whatever. You gonna to swipe it, or should I?"

Two young men stood against a wall, talking in low voices, just above a whisper. They were blended in with the shadows, hidden so smoothly, that unless one walked by closely enough to hear their conversation, no one would know they were there. Natos, the shorter of the two, rolled his eyes as he answered his friend.

"Do what you want, Acronis. I have no desire to steal his purse."

Acronis smirked. "What a surprise."

To say that the two men were friends was an exaggeration. They thought very little of each other, one way or the other, though the two were practically brothers, raised together for almost eighteen years. They had also roomed and trained together for as long as either could remember. None of it was by choice, though. They had been thrown together simply because their birthdays were only five days apart. They were expected to live together, fight together, and even die together. The next day, though, all of that would change.

The next day was Natos's eighteenth birthday. On that day, he would be taken into the inner campus to become a full member of the guild both he and Acronis belonged to. Like most of the members of the Class of Morano, they had joined the guild when they were young—too young to make the choice themselves.

They became novices at a young age, thieves soon after, and were expected to be assassins by the time of their full induction into the guild. Both Acronis and Natos had made the change in job a few weeks ago. They didn't know what exactly happened to those unfortunate enough to miss the deadline, but they were glad they didn't have to find out.

There was only a day left before these two "brothers" would be separated. Natos would be taken from his childhood home on the outskirts of the sprawling campus deep in the Sograt Desert, and given a new residence inside, after the induction. In the interim, they were in Morroc, with no training scheduled, for once.

While the two dark-haired assassins contemplated the ignorant man with the tempting pouch, someone else was watching them. The only reason she even knew they were there, so carefully hidden in the shadows, was because she'd been following them for the last few hours and had seen them disappear into the darkness. She remained nearby, listening to their hushed conversation. Fortunately, she could blend into the crowd so well that the two assassins would never suspect her of anything sinister.

But her plans weren't malicious, or, at least, the intentions behind them weren't. The abduction could be misconstrued, but she had little choice. She was out of time.

"Don't expect a cut of the profits," Acronis was saying to his shorter associate.

"Keep your profits," Natos replied. "In fact, I think I'll leave you to your quarry. I'll see you at home later."

Natos emerged from the shadows and squinted in the brilliant desert sunlight. He paused for a moment, then spoke, staring straight ahead and not at Acronis, to whom his words were directed.

"Try not to get caught. I don't think Rais would like that very much."

Acronis made a face at that, but it was lost in the darkness.

Now that the two young men were separated, the woman knew it was time. She might not get another chance. She walked casually in the direction of the wall, consciously keeping her eyes from glancing into the shadow at Acronis, whose location she shouldn't have known. She continued past the wall, knowing that the assassin in the shade would be so intent on his target, he'd never notice the woman following his friend out of sight.

When Natos reached an empty side street, the woman quickened her pace. She tried to move as quietly as possible, knowing that if he heard her, the whole plan would be ruined. Her only chance was to take him by surprise, because she'd be no match for him in a fight.

Natos, however, already sensed that someone was watching him. He was less than worried, though, considering that the only person he'd seen behind him was a Kafra employee who posed no threat to him. Still, he had the distinct feeling that he was being followed. Maybe it was someone hidden; it could be part of his final training, or a test before he became a full member the next day. Or maybe he was simply being paranoid. Either way, he would have to keep his guard up.

Movement on his left caught his eye, and he nearly drew his dagger before he saw who it was – the Kafra woman. And she barely even acknowledged his presence, other than to give him an odd glance as she passed.

Natos sighed to himself. _Get a grip, man. If you can't handle it now, how will you ever survive the tasks you'll be doing for the Class of Morano?_ He stopped walking, deciding that he needed to know for sure if he was being stalked, and then go on the offensive if he was.

_Wait, what is that smell?_ It was sweet, like the flowers sold by that little girl in Prontera; she never had much money, but she was always the first target of Natos's thieving guild mates when they were in the city.

Natos wasn't sure what bothered him more in this moment—the fact that he was thinking about that little girl, or the fact that he'd forgotten the possible danger he was in. Most likely, it was the realization that he was falling to the pavement and unable to keep his eyes open any longer.

* * *

The woman waited impatiently for Natos to wake up. He had slept soundly as she half-carried, half-dragged him into an empty building she had chosen earlier. She'd gone with creamy powder to put him to sleep because its effects were supposed to be short-term. She should have had just enough time to get him into the building and secure him to the chair before he would wake up.

When Natos opened his eyes, he took in his surroundings as best as he could without moving his head. He was pleased to find the effects of whatever knocked him out to be wearing off quickly, but considerably less pleased to discover his arms and legs tied down. If this was a test, he'd certainly failed.

"I know you're awake," he heard a woman say.

When he finally lifted his head, he was shocked to see that his abductor was the Kafra woman. She sat in a chair in front of him, with a serious look on her smooth, tanned face. She appeared to be just like any other Kafra employee, though a little older than those he normally saw. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but he could see some gray in it. Since when did Kafras kidnap random people walking down the street?

The woman was aware that she'd been staring at him, and that it was probably her move. She was struck by the familiarity in the young man's face. His dark brown hair puzzled her, though; it didn't seem quite right. Still, she knew she had the correct assassin. Now came the hard part.

"Natos," she said slowly and clearly. "My name is Lysandra."

Natos's analysis of her words was detailed, but fast. She knew his name, which meant this was more than some sort of random abduction. He no longer thought that it was any kind of test by his guild either; somehow he couldn't see them resorting to Kafra employees for something like that. Besides, her expression was too soft.

If Natos didn't know any better, he would think she cared about him, a thought which made him a little less concerned about the fact that she'd told him her name. His overall impression of her introduction was that she wanted something from him—something that she probably needed his cooperation to get. He decided to find out how much about him she actually knew—just his name, or perhaps more.

"Well, Lysandra, I'm not quite sure what you want with me, but if you let me go now, I'll forget this happened, and you won't be punished."

Lysandra smiled, clearly unconcerned by his threat. Her smile unnerved him. It was warm and compassionate, and made the situation that much more unclear.

"I have a hard time believing that you would go back to the Class of Morano and tell your leader that you were kidnapped by a woman twice your age."

Natos silently agreed. Rais would expel him, or worse. He had been bluffing, and she called him on it. She also knew more about him than he'd expected.

"Even so, my guild won't take too kindly to someone abducting one of their members."

His threats were hollow, and he knew she could see that. By this point, any hint of concern about his current situation had dissipated. He was mostly amused and curious about what Lysandra would have gone to all this trouble for.

She had planned it in her head, rehearsed it aloud, and knew exactly what she wanted to say. But sitting here now, she couldn't remember a single world. Only one thing really sat in her mind now—the letter_. The letter will explain it all._

Lysandra reached into a pocket in the front of her apron and carefully pulled out a flimsy piece of paper, which she unfolded. It was old—as old as Natos himself—and the creases where it had been folded were well worn. She handled it gently, knowing that it wouldn't take much to ruin this precious letter. She held it out in front of Natos.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What's this?"

"Just read it." She watched his face as his eyes scanned the page, and his expression remained one of mild curiosity the whole time.

Inside, though, his heart beat faster at every sentence he read. He managed to keep his face from betraying his feelings, and by the time he finished reading the letter, he'd convinced himself that it was unrelated to him. When he looked up at her, his eyes were controlled and distant. For the moment, he remained silent.

Though Lysandra was not smiling, her eyes danced with joy and excitement. "I'm sorry I could not pull you out sooner; I'm sure this will be very difficult for you." When the assassin still said nothing, she knew she would have to explain. "Natos, Anwen is _your _mother."

"That's ridiculous," he replied. "You can't possibly know that."

"Did you not take note of the date on the letter?" she questioned.

He hadn't, so he looked at it now. It was dated three days after the current day, eighteen years ago.

"That was the only way I could find you, unfortunately. Wait until eighteen years from the birth of Anwen's son, and find out which member was to be inducted. Luckily, you were the only one within five days, so there is no doubt."

Natos was struggling with this information and wasn't sure if he was even able to hide it this time.

Lysandra hadn't expected it to be easy to explain all of this to Natos, nor to convince him that it was all true, so she was surprised and somewhat relieved to see that he seemed to be accepting everything.

"So what happens next?" he asked her. "You came here to 'save' me from Morano?"

"Of course."

"How?"

Lysandra didn't know how to respond to that question.

"What, did you have some kind of elaborate plan in which I fake my own death and move to the other side of the world? Or am I simply supposed to walk into Rais's office, tell him I quit, and expect to leave with my head still attached?"

"I—I'm not certain of the best way to get you out…"

Natos was incredulous. "You've spent _eighteen_ years planning this, and you have _nothing_?"

"I have not been planning this for that long. I spent many years trying to find you sooner. And—" She stopped talking and eyed the young man in front of her. "Don't do that," she frowned. "Don't make a joke out of this." She'd caught the mocking tone in his voice just a little too late.

He almost smiled, but caught himself. "I'm sorry, it's just all so ridiculous. I'm supposed to just throw away my entire life because you say it's what my mother wanted?"

"Your mother was the most selfless individual I have ever known. She gave of herself for others every day, and even had a kind hand for the outcast in the street. Even as she was dying, her only concern was for _your_ safety. To think that her son would then be corrupted by evil men and forced to become nothing but a mercenary…" Lysandra clenched her fist in an attempt to control her emotions. "What your mother _wanted_ was simply a decent life for her son. And I have done everything I can to see that through."

"A decent life," Natos scoffed. "And what makes a life _decent_? My guild may not be filled with the most honorable people…thieves and killers, really…but it's all I have known my whole life. They are my family."

"No, they're not. They have raised you to suit their purposes, and they will abandon you, or worse, if the situation calls for it. You've said as much yourself. The simple fact that you recognize the unsavory character of your guild proves that you do not belong there."

Natos sighed. She was persistent, and she was right. But that didn't matter…it never had.

"Save your arguments; they're useless. I'm going back to Morano, and I'll be there for my ceremony tomorrow."

Lysandra started to shake her head slowly. "No," she said, her voice heavy with emotion. Then, in a more commanding tone, she repeated, "No! I did not come this far only to find you and fail."

"Unless you intend on keeping me tied to this chair for the rest of my life, you don't really have a choice. I'm sorry you wasted so much time on this, but I believe you need to let me go."

Lysandra hesitated, then reluctantly stood up and walked over to untie Natos's arms and legs. Though freed, he remained seated as she moved to the door. Before she walked out, she turned back toward him.

"You know what they'll ask you to do tomorrow. If you complete your task, I will truly have failed." She opened the door and went outside, leaving Natos alone in the room.

Natos stood up and stretched, pulled a transparent, lavender insect wing from his pocket, and absently tossed it to the ground.


	3. Chapter 2

It was raining lightly, no more than a drizzle, as she shuffled across the street. She had nowhere to go, and that awning looked inviting. She clutched her thin jacket tightly with her right hand and leaned against the dry brick wall. The sky had been mocking her all week with its angry rain clouds and violent downpours. There was hardly a dry spot in all of Al de Baran.

As Karina shivered in her long-since soaked clothes, she heard a nearby door opening. A man stepped out and glared at her as he went on his way, placing a wide-brimmed hat atop his head to block the rain. She wanted to disappear into the wall behind her.

Her husband's influence was all over this town. Most people wouldn't even give her a second glance once they realized who she was. The only reason she'd survived this long without starving was because some of the more compassionate Kafra women would offer her a bit of food now and then. It also helped that there were a few lonely men in Al de Baran who were willing to look past her unmistakable identity to satisfy their own hungers. Lately, though, even those men were difficult to come by.

She saw someone else then, headed toward another door in the building she was huddled next to. The person wore a cloak that covered his or her whole body, but the wide shoulders hinted at a male being under it. His face was hidden by the hood that was pulled over his head. Even without seeing his eyes, though, she could imagine the look of disdain that he was likely giving her. She'd seen it thousands of times.

As the man grew closer, it became evident that he was no longer headed for the door, but instead walked directly toward Karina. She tried to stand up straighter, turning her right side to him, and hoping she looked more confident than she felt. If the man didn't already know who she was, she didn't want to make it obvious now.

When he reached the wall, he stepped under the awning next to her and pulled his hood back a little. She could see his face now, with rough, tanned skin and bright blue eyes.

In all of her life, men had only looked at Karina in one of two ways—with anger and hatred, or with lust. None of that was present in this man's gaze. She had no idea what it meant, and it made her uncomfortable.

"Miss, I cannot think of a good reason why anyone would remain outside on a day like today," he said in a deep, soothing voice. "Please, come inside where it's dry."

The man's kind and accepting face led her to believe that this invitation was different than she was used to. It was the first offer in many years that she really wanted to accept, yet she didn't feel she should.

"Thank you, sir, but I think I'd better not," she replied.

"My aunt lives here. She's expecting me, and I'm sure she'll have some hot tea ready." Glancing at her drenched rags, he added, "And some dry clothes."

Karina glanced out at the empty street, knowing that going with him could damage both his and his aunt's reputations in this town. But when he opened the door and saw the warm, welcoming, and most importantly, dry interior, she could not resist.

She followed the man inside and looked around, making sure to keep her arms crossed, with her left hidden under her right. The room was small and plainly decorated with paintings of far-away forests, as well as portraits of close friends and family. There was a fireplace on the opposite wall, which was clearly serving its purpose on a day like today.

The man pointed Karina toward a nearby chair and began to remove his cloak. With such wet clothing, she couldn't bring herself to sit in the upholstered chair, despite how inviting it looked.

"My name is Remiel Azrael," the man finally introduced himself. His newly revealed clothes were foreign to Karina. He was wearing a robe similar to that of the priests she'd seen, but his were mostly white, with only a hint of the more common red and brown. His hair was blonde and cut short, accentuating the innocent look his outfit gave him.

"I'll go find my aunt and let her know we have a guest," Remiel said, heading for a door that led to another room. "Please, have a seat."

He headed through the door and into the kitchen. There, with her back to him, was a woman who was at least twenty years his senior.

"Hello, Aunt Lys," he greeted her.

"Remiel," she turned to face him, smiling warmly. "I thought I heard your voice in the other room."

Her once auburn hair was mostly gray now, and her face showed the effects of many difficult years. The two shared a quick embrace, and Remiel informed her of the woman who was waiting in the sitting room.

"I'm not sure if she's homeless, or had a fight with her husband, or just got lost or something," he mused. "Either way, I couldn't leave her out there in the state she's in. She looks like she could succumb to pneumonia any minute."

"How sweet, you brought me a stray," the woman commented.

"Aunt Lys!" Remiel choked.

"Calm down, I was only joking." She glanced through the doorway quickly, and then stepped over to the stove. "Some nephews bring their aunts flowers when they visit. You bring me a half-starved, water-logged—" She caught Remiel's disapproving look and changed directions, finishing her statement with, "young woman."

"Lys, you hate flowers," Remiel pointed out as his aunt removed a pan from the oven.

She only smiled in response. Pointing to a tray on the kitchen table, she requested, "Bring the tea, would you?" She was already heading into the other room.

Karina felt very self-conscious as the older woman came into the room. What must they think of her, standing in their nice house in her wet rags and matted hair? On the other hand, it seemed the man was genuine in his intentions. He certainly hadn't brought her in here to use her and toss her back outside.

"What's your name, hon?" Lys asked as she set the pan down on a low table.

"Karina."

"I'm Lys. It's good to meet you, Karina." She gestured to the same chair as her nephew had earlier. "Have a seat, dear, please."

Karina glanced at the chair, but still didn't move. "I don't want to ruin it."

Remiel was setting the tray with the tea next to the pan of biscuits. He looked up to see Lys giving him a pointed look.

"Uh, right…I'll go get a blanket."

Once he was out of the room, Lys stepped closer to the younger woman. "You're Mrs. Eniola, aren't you?"

"N-no," Karina tried to deny it, but she knew that the appalled look on her face would give her away.

"Mm-hmm. Listen, hon, I'm not going to kick you back outside, but I would appreciate it if you would not lie to me. Now, Haidar Eniola's displaced wife is pretty big news in a town as small as this, even after—how many months has it been?"

"A-a few," Karina cleared her throat. So much for not being obvious.

"How is your arm? Has it healed yet?" Lys inquired as Remiel came back into the room, carrying a thick, gray blanket. "My nephew is a high priest. He can heal it for you."

Remiel heard that last statement, and, still being unaware of who the woman was or why she would need healing, he looked quickly to the woman, expecting to see some wound that he would berate himself for missing. She looked fine. He draped the blanket over the chair and again offered her a seat.

"It's okay now," Karina answered Lys. One of the first men who had been willing to overlook her sin for the gratification she could bring him had been a monk. He'd at least had a spark of compassion, and had healed the injury left over from her lost hand.

Karina finally sat in the chair, sinking gratefully into soft cushions. She kept her arms crossed firmly as she did so.

"Have some tea," Lys suggested, pouring some into a cup. "It'll warm you up. And I'm sure you must be hungry."

Karina hesitated only a moment before reaching with her right hand for a biscuit. She bit into it quickly, barely taking the time to savor the warm, buttery flavor. It was gone in a few bites, and she accepted the tea that Lys held out to her.

"Thank you," she said genuinely, and then took a sip of the tea.

Remiel sat in the sofa adjacent to Karina's chair and looked at her curiously. The state of her clothing suggested she had been living on the street for more than a few days. She was too old to have run away from her parents; he estimated her age to be around thirty. She kept her left hand firmly tucked under her right arm, even as she ate and drank, so he could not see if she had a wedding ring on or not.

"Karina, I am so sorry to pry," he began, "but is there something—"

"Remi," his aunt interrupted him.

He looked up at her with raised eyebrows.

"Can I see you in the kitchen?"

"Uh…yeah, sure," he answered with confusion. He followed her through the door, and she stopped just inside.

"Keep an eye on her," Lys requested.

"What is she going to do?"

"Just watch her. I don't want her to leave yet."

"Aunt Lys, what's going on? Do you know something about her?"

"Yes, I do, quite a bit. She was thrown out of her home by her husband a few months ago. Now, most of this is based on rumors, mind you, but they're generally consistent rumors. Supposedly she cheated on her husband, who I have just confirmed is Mr. Haidar Eniola. His family owns half of the residential land in Al de Baran. Because of his wealth and power, the woman has had nowhere to go. No one will take her in, and she can't even pay for a room at the inn. Some of the girls at work have talked about seeing her in the street near the Al de Baran post. They feel bad for her and bring her food now and then."

"Why doesn't one of them offer her a place to stay?" Remiel wondered, glancing into the other room. Karina was still there, reaching for another biscuit with her right hand.

"For the same reason no one else does, I suppose. They're afraid of what could happen to them. Mr. Eniola is acquainted with many important people in this town. They talk like he could somehow get them fired."

"Hey, why were you talking about having me heal her earlier?" he asked suddenly, reminded of that odd suggestion as he watched her pour more tea into her cup, using one hand. Clearly something was wrong with her left arm, but why hadn't he sensed an injury?

Lys's eyes narrowed as she explained. "Her husband cut off her left hand when he threw her out. He claimed it was an accident and was never arrested. One of the less substantiated rumors floating around is that he keeps the severed hand in a jar as a trophy."

Remiel made a disgusted face at the gruesome image that created in his mind. "Why doesn't she just go live with a family member?" he asked, starting to feel a little frustrated. "She has to know _someone_ who will take her in. Even outside of Al de Baran, she knows no one who will help?"

"I don't know what kind of family she has. But I do know that the first week or so after she was kicked out, she tried to convince some of the different girls at the Kafra post here in town to send her somewhere free. I—"

Remiel quickly interrupted her narrative to ask, "Do you know where?"

"Some said Prontera, others said Payon, and one even said Geffen. I don't know if she has family somewhere, or if she just figures she'll be better off anywhere but here. Unfortunately, the Kafra Corporation is very strict about free teleports, so none of the girls could help her. I considered telling one or two of mine to go ahead and do it, and that I'd take the blame. But I doubt any of them would risk it, even still."

She caught her nephew's disapproving frown and assured him, "I don't care who her husband is. The corporation isn't going to fire me; I've been with them far too long. Besides, I don't care if they do. The woman can't live the rest of her life in the street; someone has to show some compassion around here."

Remiel smiled affectionately at his aunt. "You're certainly the perfect woman for that job. Don't worry though; she's not going to live in the street anymore."

Lys mirrored his loving grin. "I knew you'd understand."


	4. Chapter 3

The Morano campus was virtually an entire town in itself. There were food, armor, and weapon shops, a tool dealer, and even a Kafra service. It was probably the most heavily guarded town in all of Rune-Midgard, both inside and out.

Natos's butterfly wing deposited him just outside the campus wall, next to the woman with whom he was registered, and he eyed her closely. It wasn't Lysandra, but she did look back at him with a knowing and concerned look. He realized now that this particular Kafra employee had been stationed here for a few weeks, which was unusual at Morano. The women seemed to rotate out often, though Natos didn't particularly know why.

He chuckled as he headed toward the room he shared with Acronis. Lysandra had a man inside, so to speak. No wonder she knew so much. Of course, if Rais found out what was going on, both women would probably be killed. Lysandra had risked a lot to pull him out, and maybe if she had found him sooner—many years sooner—she could have succeeded. It was simply too late now.

The sound of an evening breeze blowing between the buildings made him shiver and walk a little faster, but suddenly he stopped walking altogether. He glanced surreptitiously at a patch of desert grass that was just in his line of sight through the doorway in the outer wall around the campus. The tall blades of grass weren't moving the slightest bit. There was no wind, which explained why, for the second time today, Natos had a feeling that he was being stalked.

_Not this time_, the assassin thought confidently. It shouldn't have happened the first time, and he certainly wouldn't let himself be bested twice in one day. His training kicked in.

He had not been an assassin long enough yet to advance his hide skill beyond the basic thief ability, which would be useless against a human attacker. He had little choice but to start out on the defensive, so he closed his eyes and listened intently for any hint of the unseen assailant.

Blocking out the normal sounds of dusk settling out in the desert, he concentrated on his immediate surroundings. The first noise he heard was a dull thump in the sand behind him. He kept his body still and only moved his head to look behind him, and his hands to reach for his daggers. At the same time that he saw the source of the noise, he heard another one, this time in front of him. It was very faint, but there was no mistaking the sound of a metallic weapon being drawn. The thump behind him could be attributed to the rock that was sunken into the sand, having been thrown there by his attacker to distract him.

He reacted swiftly, drawing his daggers and charging toward where he now knew the enemy was. He connected with something solid and heard a grunt. Both Natos and his foe fell to the ground, but were on their feet immediately. The opponent was now visible, and it was another assassin, which he had expected. What he hadn't expected was the gender of his attacker.

_What is with the female population today?_ he wondered.

He didn't have time to think much beyond that, though, because the woman was now coming at him with katars sharp and ready. Natos blocked her attack with his own daggers and managed to push her backwards, but she came again right away. He jumped back and let her momentum carry her past. He took the opportunity to attempt his own attack, but she spun back around quickly. As she turned, she crouched low to the ground, swinging one leg out, which caught his own legs and knocked him off balance.

This time, he was the one on the ground, and he'd lost one of his daggers. He pushed himself up right away and fought his instinct to look for his missing weapon; that would be his death.

By the time he was on his feet, the other assassin was nowhere in sight. She'd cloaked again, and was undoubtedly circling around behind him for her next attack. He couldn't count on his ears to reveal her location this time; the blood was rushing in his ears too loudly.

This assassin's fighting techniques were remarkably similar to his, which most likely meant that she was also from Morano, trained by the same people. Therefore, he could only imagine what he would do in her situation, and estimate her next point of attack.

He spun ninety degrees to his left and lashed out with his one dagger. He carved through the air, finding no resistance whatsoever. Then, at his back, he heard the telltale whine of his defeat and felt the sting of the katar blade slicing through his skin. In one final attempt to stay his demise, he spun to face his foe. In a heartbeat, his dagger was pressed against the side of her neck, but he hesitated. In that moment, she brought her already-bloodied katar up to his heart, and stopped just shy of pushing it through his chest.

For what seemed like an eternal moment, the two assassins stayed in this position, faces only inches apart, weapons a muscle flex away from a bloody finish. Both were breathing heavily, and Natos wasn't sure whose heartbeat he heard louder, his or hers. Then she spoke, voice no louder than a whisper.

"You have been tried, and you have been found," she paused to find the right word, "wanting."

She stared into his eyes for a moment without the slightest expression on her face. Then her mouth turned up just slightly, and she winked at him ever so subtly, finally lowering her katar. She handed him a bottle filled with white liquid and another small object, and disappeared, leaving only a slight breeze behind.

Natos stood still for a moment, letting his heart slow to a pace that was more manageable, then quickly drank the potion she'd handed him to relieve the pain in his back. In the dying light, he examined the second object she'd handed him, and discovered that whatever it was, it was wrapped in a piece of paper. He removed it to find writing on it.

_Welcome to the fold.  
Silence is key._

"Silence is key," of course meant that he was not to tell anyone about the test he had just passed. It certainly would make it impossible to administer if the subject expected it. Despite his aversion to what he knew he would soon be joining, Natos couldn't help but be pleased that he had fought so well against such a capable opponent.

Rusalki was the daughter of the Class of Morano's guild leader, Rais—his only child. Because of this, she saw the guild leadership as her rightful position someday. It wasn't that simple, though; the title could not be inherited, it had to be earned. Therefore, ever since becoming a full member a year ago, Rusalki had trained harder than ever, determined to succeed her father.

Until then, her dedication had earned her a special role in the guild; she had been secretly tasked with testing each member before his initiation task. It was Rais's way of assuring that his guild would not be embarrassed by a weak, under-qualified individual who was sent on a mission too soon. They didn't have to beat Rusalki; in fact, if anyone ever did, they'd probably be considered for her job. But it was left up to her to decide whether the initiate was worthy of the Class of Morano.

Natos had received that nod. As he started toward his room again, he fingered the object that had been wrapped in the note. It was a stamp or a seal of some sort. The marking on it looked sort of like the left half of an arrow, with a tail curving off to the right at the bottom. The first thing Natos did when he finally reached his room was to wrap the stamp in a thick piece of cloth, as it had a few sharp edges, and tuck it into an inner pocket of his pants.

Acronis was not back yet, and Natos knew he'd be out until well after dark. For as much as Acronis was enjoying himself this afternoon, he had exponentially more fun during the nocturnal hours.

After his unusually grueling day, and with the significant day ahead of him, Natos just wanted to take a bath and go to bed. He began removing his assassin uniform, but stopped with only his chest exposed. Curiously, he stepped over to the mirror in the small bathroom and turned his back, twisting his neck to see behind him. There was only a slight discoloration on his skin on the right side; the white potion certainly had healed most of the injury that assassin had caused.

Turning back to face the mirror now, his eyes were drawn to his neck, which was only ever uncovered in the privacy of his own room. There, on the right side of his neck, was the brand he'd had since childhood. It was the same symbol as that on the stamp the woman had given him, though a reversed image. Tomorrow, the other half would most likely be burned into his skin next to this mark, creating an "M" and signifying his full membership in the Class of Morano.

As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, his face clean-shaven, but his dark, shaggy hair badly in need of a haircut, Natos thought about the last thing Lysandra had said to him. _You know what they'll ask you to do tomorrow._ He didn't actually know for certain, but it wasn't difficult to guess.

The truth was that Natos had already been struggling with the thought that he would be expected to kill someone for his full membership. He hadn't been thrilled about it, but he had come to terms with his distinct lack of any choice. He knew he would fulfill his task, which would lead to more similar missions.

Now, though, he wasn't so sure. It was easy to say that while he was fighting that assassin, he knew subconsciously that it was a test, which was why he stopped before cutting her throat. But he knew that was not the reason. Given the opportunity, and faced with his own death as the result of failure, he'd hesitated. How could he possibly follow through with a pre-meditated murder of another human being? And what would his superiors do to him if he failed?

This was entirely that Kafra woman's fault. He had never questioned himself before. Why was it his responsibility to make sure a stranger completed her quest? He wasn't so sure he believed that the woman who died so long ago was his mother anyway. A lot could happen in eighteen years. He knew that not everyone who was brought into the guild as a child even made it to this point. This Anwen's son could have been kicked out of the guild long ago, or even died during training.

Natos turned away from the mirror sharply and finished undressing. There was no more debating, because there was no choice anyway. There never was. Tomorrow, he would do as his guild asked.


	5. Chapter 4

Karina knew they were talking about her in the kitchen. The woman, Lys, clearly knew who she was, and most likely, she knew what Karina had done. Everyone in Al de Baran knew. Of course, most of them didn't know the full story.

She had slept with another man. It wasn't the first time, though. And her husband knew about it—not that he minded. He was far less faithful than she was, and he'd been unfaithful far longer. The rift in the balance was caused when she made a mistake—a public mistake. That had forced Haidar Eniola, a man who valued the opinion of his neighbors far too highly, to take swift and decisive action—_public_ action. The scene in front of his house was nothing more than a show. She knew that his sword had caught her left hand by accident, but for him, it was a happy accident.

Karina did consider leaving the house, but Remiel was standing in the doorway and kept looking at her. He wasn't very large, but his muscles were well defined, especially for a priest. Besides, he could cast a spell on himself to move faster. She couldn't help but wonder if this kind man and his seemingly compassionate aunt were in the kitchen discussing whether to turn her over to the authorities.

Being taken to jail might actually be a nice change in her life right now; they'd just have to get past the fact that she hadn't done anything illegal. She was sure that in this town, they could dig up plenty of people who would testify that they'd seen her steal something or other.

Karina just helped herself to more tea and decided that, for the moment, she was going to take advantage of a warm place to sit, and food that didn't require a payment of any kind—none that she was aware of, anyway.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Lys questioned. "This is different from the type of person he normally works with."

"So was I," Remiel reminded her. "He'll help her; you know he will. I don't want to leave her in this town any longer than necessary, though. I know somewhere she can stay for the next few days, if it does turn out she has nowhere else to go."

Lys gave him a knowing look. There was only one place he would take her. On that train of thought, she asked him, "That reminds me, how is your lovely bride?"

Remiel's face lit up as his thoughts shifted to his wife of only a few months. "She's wonderful," he grinned enthusiastically. "She said to tell you she's very sorry she couldn't come along. Next time, I'll plan the visit a little better."

"I had wondered about that," Lys nodded. "Tell her that I understand; War of Emperium weekends can be very hectic for a guild leader. I would love to see her soon though."

The high priest grew serious again, looking back through the doorway. "Since this trip may be cut short, I'm sure the next one will be soon."

"I guess you'll be leaving shortly then," she surmised from the look on his face. She tried to hide her disappointment. She knew that his new quest of ridding this poor woman of this uncaring town was important, but she had been looking forward to spending time with her nephew. With any luck, he could just take Karina to her own family, and be back before Lys missed him.

Remiel turned to head back in, but Lys stopped him. "Remi, there's something else you should probably know. It's a pretty well-known rumor that the Kafras aren't the only ones giving her meals now and then."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, some mornings she is seen leaving the homes of bachelors around town. I guess she figures that she might as well embrace the talent that got her in trouble in the first place."

"Aunt Lys," Remiel groaned, not appreciating her sarcasm.

"I'm just saying, her reputation is sour, and if she sees you as a way out…"

"You think she'd try to seduce me?" he elucidated. He lowered his voice to a whisper, but was clearly appalled as he asked, "Wait, you think I'd _let_ her seduce me?"

Lys raised her hands apologetically. "No, no, of course not! I just thought you might want to be prepared."

He sighed and shook his head. It might actually help to know that; he did not want to assume anything about her character, but he should probably be careful of how he treated her.

They both walked back into the other room, and Remiel sat back down on the sofa. Before he could speak, she looked up at Lys, standing nearby.

"I didn't lie to you earlier, you know," she said softly. "I'm not technically Mrs. Eniola. Not anymore, anyway. About a week after Haidar kicked me out on the street, one of his flunkeys tracked me down, and forced me to sign a paper. It was a marriage annulment. There's probably already a new Mrs. Eniola by now."

There wasn't. In a town like this, the Kafra rumor mill would have news like that the moment it happened. Of course, Lys hadn't heard that Mr. Eniola had divorced his wife either. Maybe the girls at work were losing their touch.

"Ms…" Remiel started, unsure of how to address the woman now. She didn't offer a new last name, so he just continued, "Karina, I would like to help you, if you don't mind."

"_Mind?" If I don't "mind?"_ Karina's brain mocked. _Why would I mind you helping me? My life is miserable right now. Would I "mind" it getting better? Let me think about that._

Karina kept a straight face as she nodded an affirmative.

"But first I need to at least know one thing, because I do not like working with rumors, especially considering the nature of the rumors involved here."

She didn't wait for him to ask the question. "You want to know if Haidar kicked me out for the reason you've probably heard?"

Remiel and Lys both nodded.

"Short answer—yes, I slept with another man. I will not burden you with any more than that." Somehow telling them the rest just felt like an excuse, and she did not think that a priest would care to hear _why_ this particular affair was the one that had done her in.

The other two exchanged a look, both thinking they knew what she was referring to when she refrained from explaining further. They did not know of the past discrepancies of both Haidar and Karina Eniola.

Remiel turned back to Karina, and continued with his offer of help. "I'd like to warp you somewhere, for free, if you can just tell me where."

She looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean? How would I know where?"

Remiel glanced at Lys again, then looked back to Karina. "Do you have family somewhere? Friends? Anyone who will let you stay with them until you can get back on your feet?"

Karina scoffed at that. "I've never had friends—only other women who were married to Haidar's associates. You can imagine what they think of me now. My family is…well, what's left of them…they're not even worth discussing. I can tell you right now they would not help me."

Lys stepped over and sat next to her nephew, leaning forward to be closer to the younger woman. "Where were you planning to go when you were trying to convince the Kafra women to give you free teleports then?"

Karina shrugged. "Anywhere but here," she answered simply. Looking at Remiel, she wondered, "Does that mean you're not going to help me?"

Remiel looked at Lys again, and she merely sighed. He knew that there had to be many better places for this woman to spend a few days, but somehow he thought she would be safer there. And the weekend's War would be over by the time he got there; he was confident his wife would have led their guild to victory once again.

"I do not approve of what you have done," Remiel told her. Her shoulders drooped, so he continued quickly, before she misconstrued his words. "But I don't see any point in leaving you here to die on the street. I would like to take you to someone who will be able to help you much better than I can. However, he will not be back home for a few days."

"So what do I do until then?" she wanted to know. "Stay here?"

The scorn with which she asked the question caused Lys to raise her eyebrows. She was hoping that Karina was referring to Al de Baran in general, and not this house specifically. But she said nothing and waiting for Remiel to answer her.

"No, I think that the sooner we can get away from this town, the better it will be for you. The guild I am a member of has made its home in a guild castle at Payon's Greenwood Lake for some time now. There are more rooms there than we can ever fill, and I'm sure they would take you in for a few days."

"A War of Emperium castle?" Karina asked uncertainly. "Are you sure it will be okay?"

"I believe it might actually be against the rules to let a non-member stay there, especially one who is not a member of any of Rune-Midgard's class guilds either. Or maybe it's just frowned upon. I have never read the rules myself, because I don't participate in the game. However," he added with a smile, "I am quite sure I can convince the guild leader to let you stay for a few nights. That is, if you agree."

Karina looked from the high priest, who appeared confident in his plan, to his aunt, who mostly just seemed sad. Then her gaze moved to the window, and she remembered the cold, wet, lonely existence she'd come from thirty minutes ago. She hadn't felt this warm and cared for in thirty years. She would be stupid to return to her old life.

"I would very much appreciate your help," she finally answered him.

Lys was the first to stand up. "Come with me then."

"With…you?"

"Yes, dear, we'll get you fixed up with some nicer clothes. Is that okay?"

Karina genuinely smiled for the first time in months and stood up to follow Lys.

"I'll just let them know we're coming," Remiel called after them as they left.

A few minutes later, Karina emerged from the bathroom, feeling momentously better. She had barely noticed how much taller Lys was than her; the dress the woman had given her was a little long on her, falling all the way to the floor. It was still much better than her wet, dirty rags. She would just have to remember to walk carefully.

She moved slowly down the hall toward the sitting room. She could hear Remiel talking.

"I've missed you so much, darling…I will…See you soon."

Karina waited a few seconds before entering the room. She didn't want him to think she was eavesdropping on a personal conversation.

When she walked in, he was still seated on the sofa. Lys was nowhere in sight. Karina's eyes were drawn to the high priest's arm as she walked by him. She hadn't even noticed the com-disc on his sleeve before. She didn't have one of her own, because Haidar had always said she had no use for it. Sadly, he wasn't wrong.

Karina busied herself with pulling the now damp blanket off the chair and balling it up. It would need to be washed now; her old clothing had made a real mess of it. Behind her, Remiel cleared his throat.

"My guild leader is looking forward to meeting you." As he had surmised, Collegato had retained the castle it had held for almost a year now. "We should probably leave soon. I'll go find Lys."

Karina nodded and sat down to wait. Suddenly she was very nervous about meeting an entire guild full of strangers. She wondered how much Remiel had told them about her, though she guessed that he wasn't the kind of person to spread gossip. He came back into the room, followed closely by his aunt. Karina stood up.

"Dear, I wish you all the best with your new life," Lys said, taking Karina's hand. "I know my nephew will take good care of you until our friend returns home. You will be in good hands."

"Thank you," Karina bowed her head slightly in response. "For everything."

Lys squeezed her hand and dropped it. "Remi," she turned to him next, "come visit again soon, hm?"

"I will, Aunt Lys," he promised, giving her a hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye."

He held up his hand, in which sat a blue gemstone, and muttered a few words. A circle of light appeared on the floor at his feet, and began to grow wider. It was accompanied by a loud, high-pitched whining sound. When the circle was about four feet across, the gem in Remiel's hand disappeared. He motioned for Karina to step in first, then followed her through.


	6. Chapter 5

Rais Morano's office was bright. Somehow Natos had expected exactly the opposite. Sun poured in through a large window that had a nice view of the campus outside of the guild headquarters, where Natos had been instructed to go this morning. A stolid man in heavy armor escorted him to the warm, spacious room and left him alone there.

He actually didn't know what class that man belonged to. He was obviously not an assassin, and that was all Natos knew. However, he had been taught that some of the guild members had joined as adults, of their own volition. It just stood to reason that they would not all be assassins.

Rais, however, was definitely an assassin. Natos had seen the guild leader only twice before. Shortly after he became a thief, he had been instructed to participate in a basic sparring match with his "brother" Acronis. Rais had come to watch the outcome, to see where these two stood in their training. He'd said they both showed great promise, though Natos had beaten Acronis. He always had been better…

The second time he'd seen Rais was a few years later. The man had come to one of his training classes that were held at Morano, to explain what it would mean to be a full member of the guild. He'd made it sound as if all of those young thieves had a choice to join or not. At least, with his words he did. The tone of his voice and the pointed look in his eyes said quite the opposite.

When the man walked into the room now, he was surprisingly less imposing than Natos remembered. He was still a tall man, towering over Natos. But he was slender, even scrawny, and somehow, Natos's memories drew him as a muscular, beefy man. There was no mistaking his face though. The haughty smirk, those cold, dark eyes, even the sleek black hair and well-groomed beard were exactly as he remembered.

"Natos," Rais greeted him with a firm handshake. After walking around behind his desk and sitting down, he motioned for Natos to do the same. "I must admit, I have been looking forward to meeting you." He placed a folder on the desk in front of him and clasped his hands on top of it.

"We have been evaluating you since your novice days. We have compiled notes from your teachers, trainers, the doctor who treated your wounds, even your roommate. Of course, you would have suspected that last one, as we gathered information from you about him as well."

Natos knew exactly what Rais was referring to, though he never knew the records were so extensive.

"The summary of the information in this file is intriguing. You are strong, fast, intelligent; you've made your instructors proud. Your training partner and peers, however, do not seem to feel the same way. They say you are sullen, anti-social, and aloof."

Natos raised an eyebrow at that. Acronis had never liked his preference to be alone rather than spending the evenings with other teens from the guild, and even some who weren't from Morano, who happened to be training in the same area. When they got together, they were a raucous lot, and locals tended to lose zeny and other belongings. Natos had never enjoyed thievery just for the sake of thievery, and he knew he was looked down on for it.

Rais caught the look on his face and chuckled. "Don't worry about that too much. I was the same way—_am_ the same way. The very best assassins have no place in the crowd. They belong in the shadows."

He stopped talking, and on cue, a figure that had been watching them silently from the corner of the room stepped into the light. She clearly enjoyed the initiate's reaction to her presence.

"Of course you have met Rusalki, my daughter."

Natos was appropriately surprised, and, she thought, impressed to hear of Rusalki's relation to Rais. She couldn't take her eyes off him; something about him made him different from other men in the guild.

He shifted uncomfortably under her leering stare.

Rais cleared his throat. "You have passed your schooling, your training, and the final test. Did you bring the seal?"

He held his hand out, and Natos pulled the small object from his pocket and gave it to him. The taller man stood up and motioned for Natos to do the same.

"One last thing you must learn: bearing this mark increases your responsibility within the Class of Morano. If you do not believe you can handle that, you'd be wise to walk out of here now, while your betrayal may still be regarded with leniency. We demand honesty, dedication, and above all, discretion."

He slid an oil lamp that sat on the right side of his desk to the center, and held the seal in the flame.

"Do you now wish to become a full member of the Class of Morano?"

Natos hesitated for a moment, but reminded himself that this was his life, no matter what the horrible feeling in his stomach was telling him. He nodded, but Rais raised his eyebrows, expecting more.

"Yes, sir, I do," Natos spoke his first words since entering this room.

"Very well." The leader was obviously pleased with his answer.

The room was silent as Rais removed the red-hot metal from the fire and handed it to his daughter. This was one mark that Rusalki would take great pleasure in applying. She knew without a doubt that the future Class of Morano guild leader could make no better choice in a husband than this man. Of course, he could also make a play for Rais's position himself someday—he'd certainly be well suited for that job too. At that point, she would have to kill him. She looked forward to the outcome, no matter which it may be.

She moved quickly, so as not to waste the heat. She walked over to Natos and positioned the seal so that it lined up perfectly with the half he'd had since childhood.

Natos winced as the metal seared his flesh. He'd sustained many injuries in his life, and yet, no previous wound had ever been as painful as this one. His fate was sealed.

The woman then took a small bowl filled with some kind of salve and spread it over the burn with her fingers.

"Wouldn't want that to get infected," she whispered into his ear as she gently blew on his neck to harden a crust onto the cream.

Her cold touch made him shiver, and her breath smelled of rotting carcass. Her seductive gaze only sickened him that much more. He was grateful when Rais cleared his throat again, and walked around the desk to stand in front of Natos. Rusalki stepped back.

The older assassin placed a hand firmly on Natos's shoulder.

"Now then, for your first job."

* * *

By nightfall, Natos was in Morroc. From the shadows that covered the city in an assassin's favorite part of the day, he watched the man. He was a fat, greedy, lustful man, and Natos was here to kill him. Whether it was the man's gluttony, greed, or lustfulness that had made him worthy of death today, or even none of those things, Natos didn't know. He would never know; it was not his job to know, only to do what was asked. That didn't stop him from wondering, though, or from speculating.

Maybe the man had slept with the wrong person's wife. Maybe he was blackmailing someone who was tired of paying him. Maybe it would help to know. Or maybe it would just be worse.

As he watched the man disappear into the Morroc pub, a disturbing thought occurred to Natos. What if the guild picked marks at random for new members to cut their teeth on? It would make sense. It would eliminate the risk of failure and embarrassment involved in letting a new member take care of a paying job. This man could just be unlucky enough to be the name drawn out of a hat, so to speak.

Whatever the cause for the man's misfortune, the hit would not happen tonight. When the man left the pub, he was with a woman, and she stayed in his house until dawn. Natos had been given a number of days, though, to make sure the job was done right, and if there was one thing he'd learned at Morano, it was that daylight was not good for discretion.

He went to the inn to sleep and wait for dusk. No sleep came, though, as he lay in the bed, his mind constantly reminding him of the struggle it was going through. The Kafra's words, as well as words from the letter she'd shown him, repeated themselves over and over.

"_No matter what the Class of Morano does to him, I know you can save him. Please, do not let them have him."_

"They've raised you to suit their purposes, and they'll abandon you, or worse, if the situation calls for it."

"_I have plans for him as well"_

"Even as she was dying, her only concern was for your safety."

"_Pastor Lede, at the church in Morroc—tell him what I fear for my son, and he will help you."_

"You know what they'll ask you to do tomorrow. If you complete your task, I will truly have failed."

"Pastor Lede, at the church in Morroc…"

Natos's eyes shot open, and he sat up quickly. Part of him immediately began resisting the idea. _Why complicate matters further? What do I expect to find there anyway? This Pastor Lede could be dead by now for all I know, or moved on; it has been almost twenty years._ But he couldn't stop now. He had to have answers.

He didn't want to risk drawing attention to himself, so he searched for the church on his own. Morroc was not as massive as Prontera, but it was still a large city. After much searching, he found the building along the eastern wall, near the gate. A small plaque next to the door announced that Emrys Lede was, in fact, still the pastor here.

Natos hesitated outside of the door. It was around noon. What if no one was even in there? What time of day did churches usually have people in them? He had no idea. He reached for the door handle and pulled, stepping inside before he could talk himself out of it.

Inside, the assassin was struck with how modest the interior was. He had been inside the Prontera church once, as a teenager, just because he'd been curious, and this place was a huge contrast to it. Light streamed into the sanctuary through plain, clear glass, unlike the elaborate stained-glass windows he remembered from the Prontera church. Unlike the ornate chandeliers there, the lighting fixtures here were very plain. The feel of this place was humble and unpretentious. It certainly fit a town like Morroc, where half of the population lived in tents, as if they were expecting to have to pack up and leave in the middle of the night.

A man stepped through an open door on the other side of the room. He appeared to be around sixty, with a balding head of white hair, and wrinkles filling his face.

"Hello?" he called, walking toward Natos. His eyes were warm and welcoming, though guarded.

Natos took a few steps forward, into the light from the nearest window, in an attempt to look less like a shadow-dwelling assassin who was here to kill the old man.

"Are you Pastor Lede?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," the man smiled. "Is there something I can help you with?" He kept coming toward Natos slowly, studying the young man, when suddenly he stopped walking. His eyes widened, and his hand flew to his mouth.

Natos didn't know what had caused the reaction, and reflexively reached up to confirm that he had not left his guild brand uncovered. It was concealed as usual. He tried to compose an answer to the old man's question, but didn't quite get that far.

Pastor Lede came even closer, and when he finally dropped his hand, he was smiling. His eyes were filling with tears, but he tried to hold himself together to say, "You're him, aren't you?"

Natos had to force his legs to stay still, instead of carrying him out the back door like they wanted to. "Who?"

Rather than explain, the pastor turned and called over his shoulder, "Lysandra!"

Natos really wanted to run then. The Kafra woman who had started this whole mess? That was not what he had gone to the church to find. However, he still wouldn't let himself run away.


	7. Chapter 6

Payon was experiencing similar weather to Al de Baran, except the storm had only been in Payon for a few days so far. The rain was coming down in sheets there, as well as in the Greenwood Lake area. A man hurried along the path toward the northwest castle, keeping the hood of his knee-length, white and brown leather jacket over his head.

When he reached the large, wooden door of the castle, he swung it open and ducked into the dry interior. He almost ran into his guild leader, who was standing just inside the door. She looked like she was happy to see him, but he quickly realized that it was not him she was expecting to see.

"Hi, Kaelis," she greeted the monk.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he chuckled. "Waiting for someone?"

"No—yeah, but you didn't 'disappoint' me. I'm happy to see you back too." She smiled genuinely at him.

"Yeah, sorry I missed this weekend's games. I tried to get back in time."

"It's okay," she assured him. "I understand. I told you when you joined the guild that War of Emperium was not a requirement anyway. We are casual players compared to other guilds. That's why we never push for a second castle."

Kaelis looked around the small foyer they were standing in. "This one has suited us well enough anyway. So who are we waiting for?"

"Remiel."

As if on cue, the door opened again, and two people rushed inside, shaking off water as soon as they closed the door behind them. Remiel and Karina looked up at the two who were already in the room they had just entered. Remiel stepped forward and greeted both of them, but Karina held back, almost hiding behind the high priest.

He looked back and made prompt introductions. "This is Karina; she is going to be staying with us for a few days."

She noticed that he did not include her last name. It was a fact she greatly appreciated.

"Karina," he continued, pointing first to the other man, "that is Kaelis, one of the guild's monks. And this," he walked over to stand next to the woman, "is Missy, the leader of our guild, and my wife."

The young woman stepped toward Karina quickly, smiling cheerfully, and extended her right hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Karina."

Karina shook her hand hesitantly, automatically keeping her left arm behind her back. "Yeah, you too."

"Welcome to our castle," Kaelis added. He was looking at her curiously, and she knew he was probably wondering what class she was, and why she wasn't wearing a uniform.

Missy had gone back to stand next to Remiel and was now holding onto his arm possessively. Maybe the high priest had told her about Karina after all. She eyed the woman now, taking in her long, white hair, which was pulled back from her face, and her attractive figure, which was tastefully covered by her uniform. Remiel hadn't mentioned her class, but being from Al de Baran, Karina recognized an alchemist when she saw one.

"Are you checking out Collegato as a possible member?" Kaelis asked Karina.

She just kept watching the other two, caught up in the loving look Remiel was giving his wife. Her face flushed when Missy caught her staring at them, and she turned to answer Kaelis quickly.

"Uh, no, not exactly."

"She just needed a place to stay for a few days," Remiel explained for her.

"Don't make too big of a deal out of it, Kaelis," Missy requested.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not like we're hiding her from the guild, but we are not exactly going to announce her presence, either. We could get into trouble for letting her stay here, but she had nowhere else to go."

"Oh, don't worry about that," the monk said dismissively. "You know that everyone here would happily help out. Anyway, I'm off to find the traditional celebratory party that follows the guild's successful defense of our fine castle. Are they…?"

"Down in the Baldur dungeon, just like you would expect," Missy confirmed.

Kaelis said goodbye and went further into the castle.

"I'm sorry," Missy said to Karina after he'd gone. "I realize that must have sounded very insensitive of me."

Karina shrugged. "It's true, so why apologize? I lost any dignity I may have had long ago. If you are allowing me to stay here when you shouldn't, you owe me nothing else."

Missy didn't speak for a moment, looking at the woman carefully. Her hair was an indistinguishable color, wet and tangled, and hanging down to her shoulders in dirty strands. Her dress, though a little wet, was clean and in good shape, but Missy knew it had to be one of Lys's. Karina was around ten years older than Missy, and Missy knew she'd had an unpleasant life. But she had seen the way the woman had looked at her husband, and for now, she was wary of her staying here.

"Come on," Remiel broke the silence. "Let's find you a room."

Later that evening, Karina was cleaner than she had been in a while. She had taken a long, hot shower and changed into another dress that Lys had given her. This one wasn't quite as long, though it did hang a little loosely on her. She took the tieback from the curtain in her room, which she would rather keep closed anyway, and wrapped it around her waist. Satisfied at the result, she decided to take a look around the castle a bit.

Before leaving her to clean up, Missy and Remiel had suggested that she make herself at home while she was there. The majority of the other guild members wouldn't be around much that evening, because of their adventure down in the dungeon. They had, however, suggested that if she ran into someone who inquired as to who she was, that she just tell them she was visiting. It was not uncommon to have non-guild visitors, though most either belonged to allied guilds, or were thinking of applying to join Collegato. And none had ever spent the night, for the reason they had already discussed.

While Karina was exploring the place, Missy and Remiel were in their own room, discussing their visitor.

"So you're saying she's been living on the street for two months?" Missy clarified. She was sitting on the very edge of an upholstered chair, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. She was already a little tense, and so far, the conversation was not helping.

"Approximately."

"And this is all because she cheated on her husband?"

"Essentially."

"'Essentially'?" Missy echoed. "What does that mean?"

"Yes, actually. The reason she has nowhere to go is because she had an affair."

She eyed her husband, who was standing near the door, looking at the floor. The room was silent for a few seconds, and Remiel finally looked up at her. Sensing that she needed more of an explanation, he continued.

"She has no family or friends that will help her, and her husband is apparently quite powerful in Al de Baran. Everyone was afraid to help her. She was living off the kindness of some of Lys's co-workers…as well as employing some other means…"

"See, right there," Missy stopped him. "You're being cagey, and you've never been very good at it. Are you trying to _not_ tell me that we brought a prostitute into our guild castle?"

Remiel winced. "I wouldn't call her that _exactly_. But Aunt Lys suggested she might have exchanged sexual favors for food during those two months."

Missy sighed, covering her face with her hands.

"Just don't spread that around, though, because it is unsubstantiated—" He stopped talking when she looked up at him sharply.

"Since when have you ever known me to spread gossip?"

"I wasn't implying that you would," he insisted.

She stood up quickly and opened her mouth to respond.

"I didn't _mean_ to imply that you would, at least. I only meant to request that you don't even share that part with our closer friends." Now that she was standing, he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Remi…why didn't you tell me about this before? I don't like feeling like you're keeping things from me."

He looked into her eyes and told her, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I left that part out. I suppose that at the time, I was worried you wouldn't want me to bring her if her reputation could damage Collegato's reputation."

She didn't even have to say anything. He knew he'd been wrong. Her guild was important to her, but maintaining its integrity would never be more important than the fate of a single person. Besides, Kaelis had been mostly right earlier when he'd said that every person in the guild would be willing to help Karina themselves, if given the chance. It was what had drawn most of them to Collegato, and Missy to them.

"Please don't be angry," he pleaded. "I did not intend to deceive you."

"I'm not angry," she replied, moving to be closer to him, and leaning her head on his shoulder. She slipped her arms around his waist, and felt his encircling her back. "I didn't much care for the way she looked at you, though. I guess now I know what she was thinking."

"Missy!" Remiel gasped, gently pushing her back so he could look at her again.

"I'm just saying, if she is in the habit of using sex to get what she wants, what makes you think she won't try it with you?"

"Because I already told her I would help her. For free. And aside from that, it wouldn't matter if she thought she should repay me. You know very well I wouldn't let her."

"Of course I do. I just don't like thinking about her even trying."

"I really do not think you have anything to worry about, but if it makes you feel better, I will just make sure I am never alone with her."

Missy grinned. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

He pulled her back to him again and gave her a long kiss.


	8. Chapter 7

Lysandra had been having lunch with Emrys in his office at the church when they'd heard the front door opening. When the pastor called her name, she never expected what she saw when she stepped through the doorway. She ran to Emrys's side, stopping there only because of the terrified look on Natos's face. She did not want to scare him off.

"Hello, Natos," she greeted him excitedly.

"So it is him then?" the pastor asked her when he saw that she recognized him. "Anwen's son."

"I believe so."

"'_Believe_ so,'" Pastor Emrys repeated. "How can you question it? The resemblance is amazing."

Natos listened as they carried on this conversation about him, feeling increasingly uncomfortable, though not because they were discussing him as if he couldn't hear them.

"I know it is," Lysandra agreed with her friend. "_I_ don't question it, but how do you convince _him_?"

He didn't need convincing. The pastor's reaction to seeing him was all he'd needed. However, he still could not see what knowing that the author of that letter really was his mother did to change anything. He was too far involved with the Class of Morano, now more than ever. Before they wasted their time on any more unnecessary explanations trying to convince him, he spoke up.

"What do you expect of me, exactly?"

Lysandra and Emrys glanced at each other.

"What do you mean?" the pastor questioned.

"I mean, just because I'm the long-lost son of your old friend, you want me to drop everything and go live a new life? None of this changes who I am now. It has no bearing on my future."

"Yes it does," Lysandra countered. "You know it does. And you know why."

"Because it's all about my guild. My mother wanted you to 'save' me before I became a full member."

"Yes."

Natos reached up and pulled hard on the scarf around his neck, revealing the "M" branded there. Lysandra gasped upon seeing it, and Pastor Emrys closed his eyes.

"It's too late then," the Kafra sobbed. "You…you killed—" She couldn't even bring herself to finish.

"No," Natos stated flatly. "But it is why I am in town."

Relief flooded her face. "But you aren't going to, right? Natos, you can't!"

"Which brings me back to my initial question," he reminded her angrily. "What do you expect of me? I cannot just walk away. They will kill me!"

Lysandra looked at Emrys again, hoping he had an answer.

"Son, the fact that you are standing here now is a miracle in itself," the older man said. "You cannot give up now."

Natos shook his head. "Then you'd better hope for another miracle. Because I have no choice here." With that, he turned and sprinted out of the church. Lysandra called after him, but he didn't stop.

Once he was gone, Lysandra couldn't stop the tears that were streaming down her face. She'd been so hopeful that she had succeeded when she'd seen him there. Now it felt like her heart was breaking.

"What do we do now?" she wailed.

"Just keep praying," Emrys suggested. "Don't give up yet."

Back in his room at the inn, Natos fell into a fitful sleep of exhaustion, waking just before dark. He went into the small bathroom to wash up, and once again stared at himself in the mirror. Avoiding looking at the mark on his neck, he studied his features. Was it the nose? There was nothing distinctive about it; it was just a nose. Maybe it was his mouth, or his blue-gray eyes. Had his mother had thick, dark hair? Suddenly he wanted to know what she looked like so badly.

Shaking his head at this pointless train of thought, Natos exited the bathroom and prepared for the night ahead of him. When he left the inn, he slipped smoothly into the growing shadows. He picked up his mark easily, finding him still at work. The man owned a bakery, though it appeared that he sold more than just baked goods. And the two young, attractive women he employed did not look like they belonged in a kitchen.

Again Natos found himself wondering about what it was that made that man his target. Did it have something to do with whatever he was really involved with in that bakery?

Annoyed with himself now, he irritably thought, _Would that really help? If I can be sure that he deserves to die, will that make it easier to _murder_ him?_ He knew the answer. He had already faced the scenario of "kill or be killed," and he hadn't followed through then. He couldn't do this either, no matter what he tried to tell himself. The "I have no choice" argument just wasn't working anymore.

The man was leaving the bakery alone. The street was empty for the moment; it was the perfect chance for a lurking assassin to ambush him. But Natos had already fled.

For once, all of his thoughts were in agreement as he ran to the church. They would help him, right? If they wanted him to succeed in extracting himself from the Class of Morano, surely they expected him to need their help.

When he reached the church and went inside, he found Lysandra sitting in a pew in the back of the sanctuary. She looked back with a start when she heard the door slam open, the jumped to her feet to meet Natos.

She could hardly believe it. She'd never expected him to show up the first time, much less a second.

"Did you kill him?" she couldn't help but ask breathlessly.

He shot her an angry look. "No, of course not! Do you think I would be here if I had?"

It made sense, but she'd still needed to know for sure.

"And you know what that means, right?" he pressed. "The deadline will pass soon, and Rais will know I failed. It would be foolish to hope that he would believe me to be dead. And then, he'll send people after me." He glanced at the windows that were not concealed by curtains and suddenly panicked. "What if they already know? This was my final test. What if someone was watching me, and has already returned to Morano to tell Rais that I have failed? They could be here any minute."

"Okay, calm down," Lysandra begged. "I still have a friend stationed at your guild's campus. I'll go find out if she's heard anything about this, or noticed anyone returning through her post who seemed to have urgent news."

Natos gave her a skeptical look. "It's worth a try."

"Great. I'll be right back then. Just stay in Pastor Emrys's office, and stay hidden or something."

After she left, he wondered where she was going for this information, hoping she was not planning to actually go to the Class of Morano campus. He did as she suggested and headed for the pastor's office. He kept the light off, noting that there were no windows in the small room. In a back corner, he used his hiding skill and waited. He couldn't help but wonder if it was a futile action though. What if the assassin Rais had sent was already here, in the church, and knew Natos had come in here?

A few minutes of rational thinking reminded him that the possibility of someone being here already was ridiculous. There hadn't been enough time yet. Even if Rais somehow knew he was in the church, the assassin he sent to kill the defector would not be able to sneak into the building now without alerting Natos to his or her presence, cloaked or not.

As if on cue, the front door opened. It was too soon to be the Kafra already, wasn't it? Without knowing where she'd gone or how she was planning to contact her friend, he couldn't even guess how long it would take. It wasn't her, though; the footsteps were moving too slowly, as if the person was looking for someone. Natos reached slowly toward his dagger, keeping his hand on the handle. He stiffened as the footsteps came close to the door of his little room.

A figure stepped into the doorway, but before Natos could get a good look at who it was, the person reached over and turned the light on. Natos involuntarily clenched his eyes shut against the sharp contrast to the darkness he'd been hiding in. He forced his eyes open to identify the intruder. It was the pastor! He sighed inaudibly and debated whether to reveal himself now. He didn't want the old man having a heart attack right here. He chose to remain hidden for now.

Minutes crawled by slowly, and then the door opened again. Pastor Lede stood to see who it was.

"Wait!" Natos whispered loudly.

Pastor Lede spun around, startled. Natos appeared in front of him, holding an arm out to emphasis his words.

"Don't go out there yet," the young man pleaded. "It could be someone looking for me." He certainly did not want this kind, old man being caught up in a fight.

Emrys smiled. "All the more reason for me to go out there, and you to stay here."

Natos began to protest, but Emrys ignored him and left the room quickly. Of course, he would rather it _not_ be someone who'd come for Natos, but the assassin underestimated the pastor's ability to take care of himself. Fortunately, there had been nothing to worry about anyway.

"Lys," Emrys called to the woman heading toward him. "I had wondered what happened to you. I suppose your disappearance has something to do with the nervous young man hiding in my office."

Lysandra nodded. "You won't believe what's happened."

He stopped her before she could start filling him in. "I think I will believe it, but we should go talk in my office and let Natos know you're not here to kill him."

Natos could hear enough to know who had come in the door. He had stayed where he was, though, unwilling to step out where the windows were. When Lysandra and Emrys entered the office, the Kafra began explaining the situation to the pastor first. Natos listened impatiently, wishing she could realize how important her other information was to him.

"He has turned against Morano; he won't be a part of their horrible, murderous ways," Lysandra dramatized. "Of course, now he is essentially an outlaw, or will be when they discover his treason. We have been scouting out the situation at the campus." She was getting to the important part now. "I contacted my friend there, through the Kafra communication system. She said everything's been quiet. I think you're safe for now."

Natos sighed. He finally let his body relax a little, though he knew it was only a matter of time. Rais would never leave him alone. And what was he to do? Kill every assassin that was sent after him? He already knew that wasn't an option. He flopped into a wooden chair against the wall and ran his hands through his hair.

Lysandra watched Natos, feeling bad that she'd put him into this situation, and then reminding herself that she hadn't. The most recent upset in his life had been a result of her intervention, yes, but many factors had placed her old friend Anwen's son in this volatile situation. The fact that he was here now, of his own choice, as hard as that had to have been to make, meant that she had no reason to regret her actions. Even still, the road ahead would be precarious.

* * *

_A/N: I can tell this story is getting read because of the page hits, but I'd really like to hear from people. If you've read what's here and come back for more, tell me so, and maybe even why! At least then I'd know the page hits are repeat visitors and not just a lot of new people glancing over every time a new chapter goes up. XD_


	9. Chapter 8

Supper in the castle that night was quiet. The majority of the guild was still down in the Baldur dungeon and would not come back until well after midnight. It had been a regular Collegato guild tradition after defending their castle for about nine months now. They spent the rest of Sunday night, and a little of Monday morning under Payon, killing the monsters and demons that had killed their old guild leader.

It was just as well, because Missy knew they would all be curious about the stranger who was sharing the table with them. She didn't think the truth would be a good idea, and she did not want to lie to her guild. She also knew that Remiel simply _wouldn't_ lie to them; he might not let her either. Overall, it would have been very difficult.

Besides Missy, Remiel, and Karina, Kaelis was there, having not been quite as caught up in the day's festivities as usual. Fortunately, he already knew about Karina being there.

Varin Bakar, another monk, was at supper as well. He rarely, if ever, participated in War of Emperium, much less the after-party. He did not fight much, and he talked even less than that. The one person he did talk to was Remiel; the two were almost like brothers. If Varin had any questions about the unfamiliar woman at the table, he would probably wait until later and ask Remiel, who would tell him that it was a sensitive matter.

The last person at the table that evening was Jonathan. He was the guild's official blacksmith, which meant that his muscular arms could work a hammer much better than an axe. He tended to spend War of Emperium weekends in Prontera, seeing what kinds of deals he could negotiate on forging materials. He wasn't always back in time for supper Sunday night, considering that it was usually a non-event.

When Missy saw that he'd be joining them, though, she made sure to explain the situation ahead of time, in very general terms. Jonathan was the easiest to talk to about it, because he had been like a brother to Missy since joining the guild over three years before.

The conversation through most of dinner was light. Jonathan filled everyone in on a couple of rare items he had picked up for some guild members' weapons, and Kaelis talked about what had made him miss the games that weekend.

Varin had already gotten up and left, and Missy was finished eating, but waiting for Karina to be done, when two other guild members walked in, chattering. They weren't being very loud, but it disrupted the near-silence of the empty dining room.

"I do think you could be a rogue by next month if you really train hard," one of them, a wizard, was saying.

"No way!" the young thief he was talking to responded. "Well fine, maybe I could, if I do _nothing_ but train for the next month, double up on courses at the thief guild, and miss War of Emperium. Sure…but that wouldn't be any fun."

They walked to the table, and both plopped down on the nearest chairs, breathing heavily.

"How's supper tonight?" the wizard, Chadwick, asked.

"Great!" Jonathan answered cheerfully. "Have some!"

"We will," Chadwick assured him. "As soon as we've had a moment to rest. I don't know how the rest of those guys stay down there all night."

The thief giggled, reaching up to let her long, brown hair down. "You are so lazy," she told the man sitting next to her. "I don't know how you ever made it to wizard."

"He has only been a wizard for a few months, Lilith," Kaelis informed her.

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?" She turned to Chadwick with a scrutinizing stare. "What are you, twenty?"

"Twenty-two," he said.

Lilith laughed again. "And you're telling me I could be a rogue next month. I'm only seventeen!"

Chadwick shrugged, and then seemed to just notice who else was at the table. "Missy, some of us were wondering where you took off to. You just kinda disappeared on us."

"I told Alorinna I was leaving," she said apologetically. "I thought she would pass on the information. I just had some things to take care of up here."

"So I see," the wizard said, finally noticing the woman seated next to her. Fortunately, he didn't press the issue. "Well, don't worry. We killed plenty of monsters for ya."

Missy chuckled. "Thanks, I appreciate that."

"Oh, you should've seen it," Lilith narrated. "This gajomart came outta nowhere, right at me, with a couple of horongs on either side of it. Before I even had time to freak out—which I was about to do, believe me—Chadwick cast a _Storm Gust_ right on top of us!"

"_Chad_ did?" Kaelis asked in disbelief. "_Chad_ cast an area spell? And quickly? Did it kill them?"

Chadwick sat silently, staring at Kaelis haughtily while Lilith continued.

"It killed the horongs fast. The gajomart was just frozen. But he cast a _Jupitel Thunder_ on it right away, and it just, like, exploded." She made a motion with her hands to emphasize that last word.

"I wish I'd stuck around then," Kaelis said, shaking his head. "I have never seen Chad react that quickly, on the initial cast or a follow up."

Chad stood up and headed toward the kitchen with a swagger, enjoying the boost to his ego.

"Well, that was right before we came back up here. I decided I was holding the rest of them back, but I think Chadwick got a little tired out by all of that 'reacting.'"

Kaelis burst out laughing, and Chad's boastful walk was deflated. He walked the rest of the way to the kitchen with his shoulders slumped forward. Lilith stood up and followed him into the kitchen.

Karina sat quietly with one arm permanently under the table, and an empty plate in front of her, bewildered by what she had just witnessed. Was this what all guilds were like? She wasn't sure what she expected, but all she really knew was the solemn, proper atmosphere of social engagements she'd attended with Haidar. This was not a social event, she knew, but even around the house, the staff was always polite and quiet.

The closest she had come to this sort of behavior was only in the last two months. The center of Al de Baran could get crowded during the day, and the people were always talking and laughing with each other. She never got close enough to hear anything specific, though, so the conversations of normal people were still quite new to her.

"Karina," Missy addressed her, breaking her away from her musings. "Are you finished?" she gestured to the empty plate.

"Oh, yeah."

The alchemist stood up and gathered Karina's plate with her own, placing them both on top of Remiel's empty plate, and headed into the kitchen with them. Chadwick and Lilith were still helping themselves to the food that was being kept warm on top of the stove. Lilith looked up when she came in.

"So Missy, who's that lady out there? Is she a new member?"

Into the pot in front of him, Chadwick said, "She didn't look like a member."

"She's not," Missy informed them.

Lilith, being one of the guild's newest members, had very recently read the book of rules for War of Emperium and the castles that the guilds fought over.

"She's not a guild member at all?" she asked. "Doesn't that mean that she will have to be gone soon? She can't spend the night, right?"

Her questions were purely innocent, Missy knew, but she couldn't help but cringe at them anyway.

"She's in a bad situation and needed a place to stay for a few days," she explained. "It won't be for long, but, yes, we could get into trouble for it. I only ask that you do not spread this around. If someone asks you about her, send them to me."

That was all she needed to say. Chadwick returned to the pot of food in front of him, and Lilith just nodded at Missy.

"This guild is so cool," she said as she turned and left the kitchen with her plate. Chadwick followed her out.

Missy washed the dishes she was carrying quickly and returned to the other room as well. She sat back down between Remiel and Karina, finding the latter seemingly engrossed in another conversation taking place at the table. The topic of this one appeared to be which type of dagger Lilith should start collecting materials for next. Jonathan was explaining the system Collegato had adapted for creating weapons for its members.

"You don't have to worry about the common items—iron, coal, steel. At least, don't go hunting for them specifically. We have an entire room in this castle that is piled high with those basic metals, which are donated by guild members who happened to retrieve a lot while training.

"The things you should be looking out for are the less common items. But even those are sometimes in a high enough quantity that you can get a weapon you want, made just out of our current stock of supplies. All we ask is that if you use one of those items out of our stock, you keep it in mind, and try to either replenish it later, or donate something else that we might be low on."

Lilith listened with rapt attention, nodding now and then. "What do you consider the 'less common items'?"

"I'll give you the 'new member tour' when you have time, sometime soon," he promised her. "It's easier to understand and remember it all when you can see the items for yourself."

"Do you have time tomorrow?" the young thief asked enthusiastically.

"I believe I will."

Jonathan absolutely loved showing people around his forge and stock room. The more excited they were about it, the more fun it was for him. His eyes were gleaming now as he talked to Lilith, and Missy almost laughed at the child-like look on the twenty-seven-year-old's face.

The conversation was winding down, and Kaelis stood to clear his place.

"Was Drear still down there when you guys left?" he asked Chad and Lilith before heading into the kitchen.

"I don't think so," the wizard answered.

Lilith didn't know everyone in the guild yet, so she just stayed quiet.

"Really? I haven't seen him back in the castle though," Kaelis observed.

"I think he left around the same time Missy did."

They both turned and looked at her. She could only shake her head.

"I, uh, didn't see him leave, but it would actually sort of make sense that he did." She glanced at her husband quickly.

"What, he left because Remiel was coming back?" Chad questioned.

Kaelis rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Why not? It's the only reason he even came back for the weekend, because Remiel was going to be gone. I guess you just shouldn't have even told him that Remiel was returning early."

"He wanted to know why I was leaving," Missy explained. "I wasn't going to lie to him."

Not everyone at the table understood, but the older members did, at least to a point. Drear was the brother of the founder of Collegato, a swordsman named Naolin, who had died almost a year after creating it. Missy had been in a relationship with Naolin at the time. Once Remiel took over that spot in Missy's life, Drear had a very difficult time accepting it. Since the wedding a few months prior, Drear had made himself mostly scarce.

It was true that the only reason he had come back that weekend to participate in the game was that Remiel had planned to visit his aunt in Al de Baran the whole weekend. Once Missy told him that her husband was returning early, Drear lost all desire to be around.

"Hmm, oh well, thanks anyway," Kaelis muttered and disappeared into the kitchen, followed by Jonathan.

Karina turned to Missy then. "I'm going to excuse myself now, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," the alchemist shook her head. "Just remember—"

"Keep a low profile," Karina finished for her. "Believe me, I will."

Missy watched the older woman leave, almost wishing they'd made some sort of stipulation for her staying there that said that she had to stay in her room the whole time. Missy would even prefer having to bring her meals to her room. The castle would be more crowded the next day. How did they really expect to keep the unfamiliar woman under wraps?

"Missy," Remiel's voice broke into her thoughts. He didn't know exactly what was going through her mind, but he could tell she was worried. His hand found hers under the table and squeezed it. "It'll be okay."

"I know," she said unconvincingly. She just kept staring at the door Karina had gone through.

"Did anyone else notice that there is something wrong with her hand?" Chadwick asked as Kaelis and Jonathan came back in.

Missy sighed and stood up.

"Have a good night, everyone," she said, choosing not to acknowledge the question. It might be immature, but she didn't want to deal with it right now. Remiel could after she left, if he wanted.

Instead of going to her room, she went through a door down the hall. Like Jonathan, she had a space in the castle that was devoted to her craft—alchemy. The smell of dried herbs greeted her nose as soon as she opened the door. She was not planning to mix any potions; the room was just her favorite place in the castle.

_As long as I'm here, though_, she reached for a medicine bowl, _I might as well throw together a few of those condensed potions that Alorinna was asking for earlier._


	10. Chapter 9

"So what do we do now," Lysandra asked aloud, fully aware that she should probably be the one to offer the answer.

"Is there anyone from your guild who knows about this church?" Emrys inquired of Natos. "A friend you confided in after Lysandra found you, perhaps?"

Natos lifted his head enough to shake it. A friend in his guild…the concept amused him.

"I think it's safe to assume that you weren't followed here, or we would know by now. When would your guild learn of your failure?"

"I was given three nights to complete my job," Natos answered, sitting up straight. "If I am not back by dawn on the third morning, they will begin to investigate. It will not take long to find my mark alive and well."

"Might they believe you dead?" Emrys suggested. "At the hands of your own mark even."

Natos couldn't help but laugh. "They might at first. But there will be no evidence of that, and my mark is an incompetent oaf. No, my guild will not be fooled."

"We need to get you out of the city as soon as possible then," Emrys stated.

"That won't matter. If they believe I have defected, they will not assume that I'd stay in the city in which I failed to do my job. In fact, Morroc might be the safest place for me right now."

"Still, you cannot simply wander the streets. You also can't stay in the inn. They might not think you'd stay here, but if they're smart as you say they are, they would not completely rule it out."

"I agree," Natos nodded. "Which leaves me with what?"

"I have an empty apartment nearby you can stay at. It's not much, but there's a bed and a bathroom. I will bring you meals when I can, but you need to stay put."

"But I can't stay there indefinitely," Natos argued.

"No…no, you can't. I might have a more permanent solution, but it will take a few days to arrange."

Lysandra looked at her friend curiously, but he offered no explanation.

"Unfortunately, I need to go back to Al de Baran soon," she informed them. "My leave from work was not official, and I'm told my superiors have been asking about me back at the Kafra headquarters. I'll ask for official vacation time as soon as possible. Emrys, I'm afraid I'm leaving a lot on you."

"Don't worry; Anwen was my friend too. I will do everything I can to help."

Natos was struck by the loyalty these two had for a woman who had died almost twenty years ago. He knew they weren't doing this for him, but for her. He still appreciated it.

"How far away is this place of yours, Pastor Lede?" Natos asked.

"Not far. It's in the southeast quarter of the city—the quietest part of the city. And you're quite right; we should be heading there now."

The pastor went to a coat rack near the door and pulled off a long, dark coat. He handed it to Natos.

"The less you look like an assassin, the better. And here, wear this hat." He handed him a light-colored, wide-brimmed hat from his desk.

"You don't really think that someone from the Class of Morano would be fooled by this flimsy disguise, do you?" Natos scoffed.

"No, I really don't," Emrys said, shrugging. "But you look around this church and come up with something better."

Lysandra took the hat and sat it on Natos's head, laughing. "It'll do. Come on." She waited for him to put the coat on, then slipped her arm through his. "Walk like you aren't hiding from anyone," she suggested. "_If_ someone is looking, they'll be searching for one guy, slinking through the shadows, trying not to be seen, not walking up the middle of the street like he belongs there. And _definitely_ not in the company of two other people."

They left the church and headed south. Emrys walked on the other side of Natos from Lysandra, though he did not have his arm through the assassin's. All three were alert the whole trip, but as Emrys had said, they didn't have far to go.

At this time of night, the majority of the people on the street were in the opposite quarter of town. They barely saw anyone the whole time, and those they saw didn't give them a second glance. Sometimes not even a first glance.

Once at the apartment, one of many in a tall, indistinguishable brick building, Emrys unlocked the door, and they went inside. As he drew the curtains on two small windows in the apartment, he pointed out the amenities, which were what he'd said, with the addition of a cupboard next to a stove, a nightstand beside the bed, and a table and chair in the corner of the room. It was a small place, but clean and convenient.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow," Lysandra told them again when he was done, "but I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Don't get yourself into trouble because of me," Natos begged her. "You've done so much for me already."

The Kafra stepped close to the young assassin. "My job is not important, especially when compared to your life. I'm only going back at all to keep anyone from getting suspicious. What if your guild found out that a Kafra employee went missing around the same time as their assassin? It's not a strong connection, but they might still follow up on it."

"I suppose," Natos shrugged, unconvinced.

"I care about you like you were my own son, Natos. You are all the family I have. Don't worry about my job. I'm not doing anything unwillingly."

"Wait, go back a second. We're family?"

Lysandra looked at him with a furrowed brow, reaching back in her memory. Did she really forget to mention that part sooner? "I didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what? That we're actually related somehow? I'd say no."

She stepped a foot closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your father and my husband were brothers. It is not a blood connection we share, but we are related."

Natos nodded, slightly uncomfortable under her touch, though mostly because he wasn't sure what to do with this information. He'd gone from having a guild full of family to just this one forty-year-old woman—a forty-year-old woman who had abducted him and tied him to a chair to free him from the other family.

Lysandra cleared her throat and announced, "I should be going. I'll keep tabs on the activity at the Class of Morano campus, or what my friend picks up, anyway, and send any information to Emrys."

The pastor, who had been amused by the fact that Lysandra had forgotten to mention her own relationship to the boy, but was respectful enough to keep quiet, nodded to her.

"I'll check my messages often." Sensing that his friend was having a difficult time leaving, he added, "Have faith, Lys. He's brought us this far, hasn't he?"

She smiled, then opened the door and left, closing it quickly behind her.

"'He'? 'He' who? Who else is involved in this?" Natos demanded, suddenly feeling very panicky. He had followed these two almost blindly. Maybe they weren't who they seemed to be.

"'He,' as in God," Emrys explained.

"Oh." The man was a pastor; it made sense that he would talk like that.

"You get some rest tonight, son," Pastor Lede suggested, moving toward the door himself. "You're safe here, remember that. There's a little food in the cabinet if you're hungry. I will bring more tomorrow."

"Thank you," Natos said, feeling that the words were inadequate, but not knowing what to add.

"You're welcome," the pastor nodded, and then walked out the door. Natos locked it behind the man.

Now that he was alone, he was definitely tired, but he realized that his hunger far overshadowed that. He hadn't eaten anything all day. Time to see what was in that cabinet. He found a loaf of bread, a couple of bananas, and a bottle of apple juice. Apparently the pastor had been expecting company. He ate every crumb and emptied the bottle in a matter of minutes.

Soon after ridding the apartment of food, Natos flopped onto the small bed, removing only his daggers, which he placed on the nightstand. He fell asleep before he had time to care that he was fully clothed. With the curtains drawn, and no alarm to wake him, he slept until late in the afternoon.

When he first woke up, he had no idea where he was. His first thought was of the man he was supposed to kill. That led him to the remembrance of the Kafra, the pastor, and finally, the small apartment he was in.

_What day is it?_ his mind frantically questioned. _Is it time? Are they coming?_

The knock at the door just then caused him to jump fully out of bed. The sound was insistent, but it wasn't angry or forceful. He assured himself that it was probably Pastor Lede, and a quick glance through the curtains confirmed that. The man was standing there with a paper sack in one arm and a wide, flat box in the other. Natos's heart was still pounding from the fright as he opened the door

"Good morning, Pastor," he greeted the old man. He made sure to stay out of sight, but offered to help with the load.

"Good _afternoon_, Natos," came the cheerful response. Pastor Lede gratefully handed him the paper sack.

Natos glanced back at the clock on the nightstand.

"Huh," was all he said, running his hand through his messy hair. "So what's all this?" he inquired, referring to the box and bag, strongly hoping that one of them contained food.

"I brought you some clothes," Pastor Lede gestured to the bag. "I thought perhaps you'd rather wear something less conspicuous while you're hiding out."

Natos glanced over at the pastor and peeked into the bag. The old man was not much shorter than Natos, but he was stockier. He knew he couldn't be particular, but he could not help but wonder if the clothes would fit.

Emrys noticed the assassin's uncertain face and laughed. "They aren't my clothes. I borrowed them from a member of my congregation. He didn't even question the request."

As he spoke, Emrys placed the contents of the box onto the table, and Natos could smell it immediately.

"It's just as well that you weren't awake sooner," Emrys admitted, "because you would have went hungry until now anyway. I'm sorry I couldn't bring breakfast."

"You come here with," he stood next to Emrys and scrutinized the food, "herb marinade beef…fried scorpion tails…what kind of bread is this?"

"It's called 'soul haunted bread,' though I'm not sure why it's so dramatically named. It is good though."

"And fried sweet potato. Some of this food I've never seen in Morroc," Natos marveled. "Where did you get it?"

"It's a small place, hidden away," Pastor Lede hedged. "They serve a small clientele."

"Which means…" Natos prompted.

"My sister made it," Emrys laughed. "She owns a small catering business. She's gone all over to find new delicious dishes for her menu. I think you'll find her food to be wonderful."

"It certainly smells great," Natos agreed. "So anyway, I think you're off the hook for the absent breakfast.

"Try not to enjoy the food too much," Pastor Lede said. "You might want to stay here indefinitely."

Natos frowned, not catching the teasing tone in his voice.

Once the pastor was gone, Natos wasted no time delving into the appetizing meal in front of him. He enjoyed every bite, though, truthfully, he didn't take long to taste it.

After he downed the last of the bottle of milk that Pastor Lede had brought for him, he stood up, but didn't move away from the table yet. He didn't know what to do. This was the first time since he'd come to Morroc for his assignment from his guild that he had nothing he needed to do. More than that, there was nothing he _could_ do.

Well, there was something at least. He picked up the few dishes from lunch and took them into the bathroom, where he washed them in the sink. After that, he changed into the clothes the pastor had brought him. The pants were a little long, but the shirt and shoes fit comfortably.

Back out in the main room, he looked around more carefully. He didn't know what Pastor Lede used this apartment for; he obviously didn't live here himself. But there had to be something here to do—a book, an old newspaper, anything that would occupy his time. He knew the cabinet next to the stove was empty now, so that only left one place to check—the drawer in the nightstand.

He found a few books in the drawer. One was a hand-written accounting of someone's time with a group of people that the author called the Utans, and the others contained teachings of the Prontera sanctuary and the priest guild. By the time Pastor Lede came by that evening, Natos was an expert in the culture of the Utans and very curious about the other subject.


	11. Chapter 10

"I have news," Pastor Lede announced as he entered the apartment.

"What's that?" Natos inquired, eyeing the box the pastor carried.

"Do you remember when I said I might have a more long-term solution for you?"

"I recall a mention of that, yes. You said it would take a few days to set up."

"It's still going to take a few days, but most of it is formality," Pastor Lede shrugged, a wide grin plastered on his face. "Of course, you have to be willing to go along with it."

"Might help if you tell me what 'it' is," Natos pointed out.

"There is a small tribe, very secluded, in the jungle far north of Comodo. I have traveled there in the past, and made many friends. I contacted one of them today, who in turn talked with the chief. They are willing to have you come and live with them, and ask only that you help them in return. You would take on the role of one of their warriors, which means that you help hunt food, and protect other tribesmen from the beasts in the wilderness around their village."

Natos listened to all of this with his arms crossed. When Pastor Lede stopped and waited for a response, the assassin guessed, "Is this the Utan tribe you're talking about?"

"Oh, yes, I meant to include that. And how did you know?"

Natos picked up one of the books he'd found earlier and showed Pastor Lede.

"A little light reading," he said.

"I spent a few years there a long time ago," the pastor explained. "They are an amazing group of people. They have so little, yet they are happier than most people in Rune-Midgard." He pulled his mind away from his memories, pointing at the food that was now laid out on the table. "Don't let me keep you from your supper. We can talk while you eat."

The spread this time consisted of bomber steak, a durian, and chocolate mousse cake. It was astounding to Natos that he'd rarely eaten as well as now, while he was hiding out form people who wanted to kill him.

"Are you having some of this?" he asked the man who'd made this wonderful meal possible.

"No, that's all yours. I ate supper earlier. And that reminds me—Lysandra sent word today."

Natos sat down, but gave Pastor Lede his full attention.

"Her friend tells her that there is still no activity."

Natos nodded, and took a bite of bomber steak. It was incredibly juicy and rich in flavor, but he didn't take too much time to enjoy it.

He swallowed quickly and said, "Tonight is my last night to complete the job. Tomorrow morning, they will begin to investigate. The city will be very unsafe for me at that point."

"I know," Pastor Lede agreed, sitting on the foot of the bed. Natos turned his chair to face the man as they talked. The pastor continued, "I am hoping we will have you out of here before they start hunting you down."

"So these Utans, their village is called Umbala, right?" Natos inquired as he continued to eat.

"Yes, and it is a fascinating place. The village is actually spread out over a number of treetops, with a system of rope bridges connecting them all. The foliage below is so dense, though, one barely even realizes he is so high off the ground."

"I have never heard of this place, or these people," Natos mused.

"That is the beauty of it; so few people even know this place exists. In addition, I have requested that they try to house you in the most remote hut possible, which means you would not necessarily see the village very often. It would be a difficult life; you would not have any of the conveniences you are used to."

"What's convenient about being trained all of my life to kill and steal and to be bound to a cruel and deceitful family? Besides, if I wanted an easy life, I could have killed the baker and gone home. I'm sure I would have been well provided for at Morano."

"There is nothing easy about killing someone," Pastor Lede countered. "I know your choice was tough, though. It took a lot of courage to walk away from your guild."

Natos nodded silently as he studied the durian. He'd seen the fruit before, but had never tasted it; it had a very forbidding look to it. To be included by the woman who'd prepared the rest of the food though, he trusted that it would be delicious. Now Natos just had to figure out how to get past those painful thorns.

"Here," Pastor Lede laughed, holding his hand out. "And the knife," he requested as Natos gingerly handed him the durian. Natos picked up the knife that had been packed in with the meal and handed it to Pastor Lede, handle first. The older man began to cut into the fruit, expertly avoiding the thorns. He had extracted the flesh from many of these for his sister in the past. It made a wonderful pie.

The smell permeated the air immediately, and it was not exactly pleasant. Once the durian had been sliced in half and was back in Natos's hands, he looked at it uncertainly.

"Try not to smell it too much as you eat it," Emrys suggested. "The scent is horrible, but the taste is worth it."

Natos took a bite quickly, and discovered that he was right. The durian tasted rich and sweet, and the texture was smooth and creamy. As long as he avoided the smell, this fruit was quite wonderful.

As he worked on the large fruit, the question came out of nowhere.

"Are you a priest?" he asked.

Pastor Lede was not surprised by the question and simply answered, "Technically, yes."

"Technically? What does that mean?"

"It means that I never officially renounced my class, and it was not stripped from me. But I don't widely acknowledge it, and I do not practice the magic anymore than I have to."

"Do you mind if I ask why?" Natos asked respectfully.

"Not at all." Pastor Lede was silent for a minute, and Natos began to wonder if he was waiting for him to actually ask. Then the pastor began to explain.

"I did not care for the direction the leaders of the priest guild were letting the guild go. Being an acolyte or priest, representing the church and God, and using the holy power given by Him, used to have meaning. It used to be a lifestyle choice as much as a job choice. We served God and followed His ways. Everything we did was to glorify Him, and to serve others around us.

"Somewhere along the way, all of that changed. The children who entered the acolyte guild still had pure intentions, but the teaching had changed. The guild leaders decided that the material they were using was too strict, too 'religious.' So they watered it down. The powerful, omniscient, loving God from whom their magic came became some vague unimposing being in the sky.

"Some of the other priests and I, when we learned about this, tried to bring the old teaching back. We offered to teach classes for both the acolyte and priest guilds. But the children were told that our classes were optional. Would you rather learn that your actions have consequences, that there really are absolutes, and that you are called to be separate from the world, or that you can make up your own rules, your own boundaries, and that no one, especially some random being in the sky, can tell you that you're in the wrong?"

At that point, Pastor Lede held his hands out apologetically. "That might have been a little more than you asked for."

Only then did Natos realize that he had stopped eating. Ignoring the rest of the cake on the plate, he leaned forward. "Why did the acolyte guild start changing their teaching in the first place?"

"They thought it would be the best way to entice more people to become acolytes and priests. They had this notion that furthering God's kingdom was only contingent on bringing more people through the door, not caring what became of them once they were there. What they didn't realize was that they were driving away the ones who really sought to know God. Those who didn't buy into the line that we all decide what's wrong and right for ourselves, and that it's only sin if you deem it to be.

"Some of those young men and women found what they were looking for at the Prontera church. Others were sent to me here in Morroc, by friends of mine who'd stayed to keep trying, once I established my church here. There are a scary amount of acolytes and priests out there whom the guilds barely even realized stopped coming to their classes and training sessions. If it were legal, they'd probably form their own acolyte class guild, and go back to the old teaching."

The more Pastor Lede spoke, the more questions Natos had. He hoped he could remember them all.

He started with, "How could they find what they were looking for at the Prontera sanctuary? Isn't that the same as the priest guild?"

"Not exactly. The sanctuary is just the building, which houses the priest and acolyte guilds, as well as the Prontera church. The church itself has not gone the way of the guilds, but I feel it is only a matter of time. The simple fact that they have never opposed the shift in theology in the guilds that are _clearly_ associated with them is a strong indicator."

"So why did you give up on trying to fix it? You said you have friends there who are still trying. Why did you come here?"

Pastor Lede sighed. "I grew weary of the fight. We weren't getting anywhere, and I couldn't handle it. I struggled with my decision for a while, feeling that it was a mistake. But I have come to realize that whether it was a mistake or not, God has used me here."

"Teaching the acolytes and priests who are seeking the truth," Natos filled in.

"Yes, and training them to teach others as well. Some of them have founded their own small churches, or even formed guilds, where they reach out to others."

"Like what you did in Umbala."

"You are a bright young man," Pastor Lede smiled.

Natos shrugged. "That book talks about the Utan tribe coming to God, and you said you'd lived there for a while. It wasn't hard to figure out that the journal was yours; this is your apartment, after all."

The pastor stood up to stretch his legs, taking a few steps. "I'm too old to sit for so long," he explained, and then took a deep breath. "It was not easy. They worshipped the Mother Tree, and were set in their traditions. I lived amongst them and tried to show them God's love in my day-to-day interactions with them. In the end, it was God who opened their eyes and their hearts to the truth. It also took a change in leadership—a nonviolent change, mind you—but it was clearly a majority decision. And now you know why I thought Umbala would be a good place for you to hide out."

Natos nodded as Pastor Lede sat back down on the bed. The older man looked at the clock on the nightstand next to him. He could hardly believe that they had been talking so long. He'd never met someone who was so curious about the history of the guilds in the Prontera sanctuary. Of course, most of the people he talked to belonged to one of those guilds. Still, it was clear that the young assassin had been very sheltered from the rest of the country, there at the Class of Morano campus.

Natos was quiet for now, going over his own thoughts. The idea that a clear boundary separated right from wrong was very important to him right now. He obviously believed that to be true already, or he wouldn't have had such a problem killing his mark, especially after having been taught so long that it was what he was born to do. He didn't really know how he felt about the rest of what the pastor had talked about, but apparently he'd have plenty of time to spend going back through the books he'd found.

When Natos stood up and began picking up the dishes to wash them, Emrys cleared his throat.

"I should be going, but first, you've not given me a direct answer about my offer. If you wish to go to Umbala, I'll let my friends know, and see what they say."

Natos didn't answer right away, busying himself with the dishwashing. Did he even have a choice? He would much rather stay here and learn more from Pastor Lede, even visit his church during an actual sermon. He could meet some of the priests and acolytes the pastor was training.

The danger in staying would only grow, though, and what if someone saw him with the pastor, or Lysandra? He couldn't risk putting them in danger, and what would be the point in staying if he could never see them? At least the Utan tribe now worshipped God, and had been taught by Pastor Lede, no less. Maybe he could still learn more from them.

When he finally emerged from the tiny bathroom with an armful of clean dishes, Pastor Lede was waiting with a patient, yet curious smile.

Natos handed him the dishes to take with him and simply inquired, "How soon can I leave?"


	12. Chapter 11

Karina had already discovered the huge building to be mostly empty when she had wandered around before. Remiel had warned her that it would be quite different on Monday, so she decided that she needed to make the best of the empty space while she could. She'd probably spend most of the next day in her room.

The first person she came across was the thin, silent monk from dinner. He was sitting next to a large window in a room that Karina could see no specific purpose for. It was dark in the room, the only light being a solitary candle on a small table next to him.

She was about to leave when the monk turned and looked at her. He didn't offer her a greeting, smile, nod, or even otherwise acknowledge her. When he did move again, it was only to shift his eyes down to look at her left arm, which had not been hidden for once.

After a few seconds, his eyes moved back up to hers. There was no question—not by his mouth, with his eyes, or with any form of body language whatsoever. At first, Karina thought that maybe it was because he already knew. But if he had known anything about her, he probably wouldn't be looking her in the eyes right now.

For the second time today, Karina was pleased to discover a man who would, in fact, look her in the eyes, and it wasn't with hatred or lust. It compelled her to take a few more steps in.

"I saw you at supper," she said, hoping to begin a conversation.

Varin nodded, but offered nothing further.

"You are a member of Collegato, aren't you?"

He nodded again.

"Why?"

He looked away when she asked that question, his mind working to decipher it.

"'Why?'" he finally spoke, repeating her question. He looked at her with uncertainty written on his face.

"Yeah, why?" She had asked the question unintentionally, but now she was very curious. "I haven't been here very long, but it's easy to see that this is a very sociable group of people. They eat together, fight together, _live_ together…. Yet, here you are, in this dark room, all by yourself. Why?"

"I-I do not really think that is your business," was all he said, turning away from her again.

"It's not," she agreed. "But I couldn't help but wonder. I apologize if I upset you. I suppose I'm simply not used to being around happy people."

That made Varin look back at her curiously, but he did not pry.

"What is your name?" Karina inquired.

"Varin."

"So, Varin, what's so special about this room?"

He looked at her for a few seconds, and Karina fully expected him to tell her it was none of her business again.

"It's quiet," was all he said.

She chuckled, understanding that she was probably ruining that for him. "I suppose I'll get out of your way then."

Before she could leave, the high priest walked into the room.

"Oh, hi," Remiel said, not expecting to see her.

"I was just leaving," she informed him.

"Uh, okay. Goodbye then."

She waved in response and left.

"What did I say?" Remiel wondered.

Varin only looked at him and shrugged.

"Well anyway, I was looking for you. I need to ask you a favor."

The monk stood up and waited to hear more.

"Tuesday I am taking Karina to the Morroc church. Lys and I are hoping that Pastor Emrys can help her. I promised Missy that I wouldn't be alone with Karina, so I was hoping you would come with me."

Looking at the door, then back at Remiel, Varin questioned, "Karina?"

"Yes, that was she." Continuing with the subject at hand, he said, "I'm sure Pastor Emrys would like to see you again, too. He's asked about you a few times."

"Is that woman in trouble with the authorities?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to know if I would be expected to possibly protect her. Is she being chased by anyone who would wish her harm?"

"I really don't think so," Remiel answered. "Her husband kicked her out, but I know of no plans to attack her."

"But someone did. Her hand—she did not lose it fighting monsters, I presume."

"Oh, yeah…no, her husband did that, as far as I know. But she's been living in the same town as him for a few months since then, and he hasn't come after her. Varin, do you really think I would ask you to come if I thought there would be violence?"

"You'll find I actually come in handy in a fight."

Remiel laughed. "That may be, but I know how much you hate doing it. Don't worry. We'll warp straight to Morroc, and I doubt there will be any trouble. We probably won't even be gone very long. If you would prefer not to come, I'm sure I can find someone else."

"Of course I will come," Varin stated simply, as if he'd never had any thoughts otherwise.

Remiel shook his head in amusement. "I'll call you when we're ready to go then."

* * *

Monday morning went smoothly enough. Missy was quite relieved; as far as she could tell, Karina stayed in her room for the first half of the day. A little after noon, Missy knocked on her door and offered her a tray of food she'd brought for lunch.

Missy didn't stay long; she still did not care much for the woman. She had convinced herself that it had nothing to do with the rumors about her, true or not. The main thing that really bothered her was the look Karina always seemed to be giving her. Missy sensed that Karina would love to get her hands on Remiel, but that Missy stood in the way.

Back in the hallway, Missy was met by Valoris, one of the guild's hard-working knights.

"Good afternoon, Val," she greeted him cautiously.

"Hey, Missy, I was just coming to look for you."

"Oh, did you need something?"

"Just curious," he said, shifting his weight. "What is the deal with the woman that's been staying here?"

"What do you mean, 'the deal' with her?"

"Well, Miguel and I saw her this morning, poking around the blacksmith supplies. We asked Jonathan, and he said not to worry about her, but if we had any questions, to talk to you."

She gave him the same information she had shared with Chadwick, Lilith, and Kaelis the previous day.

He responded in a similar manner, too, only he went a step further. "Is there anything I can do to help out?"

"I appreciate your concern, Val, but she will be gone tomorrow anyway. Remiel is taking her to see a friend who can help her better than we can. The only thing we really need from the guild right now is discretion."

"Understood," the knight nodded.

A little later, the situation worsened. One of the guild's hunters, a young woman named Eilenam, found Missy in the alchemy lab to inquire about the mysterious woman as well.

"Missy, is it true that we're harboring a wanted criminal?"

The alchemist carefully put down the bowl in which she was mixing ingredients, then turned around quickly. "What? What wanted criminal?"

"Miguel said there's some woman staying in the castle, and that apparently Kaelis said we're not supposed to talk about her. Then Bakten said that there's only—"

"Okay, hold on, Eilen," Missy interrupted her before she spewed out any more names. "Go down to the conference room and wait there. I think it's time we had a guild meeting."

Missy called for everyone's attention on her com-disc's guild link then. When she was certain that they were all listening, she made an announcement.

"I want everyone who is at the castle, Greenwood Lake, Payon, anywhere nearby, or can get back quickly, to head to the conference room in the castle."

A number of members had questions to ask. They were talking over each other, and she didn't even know how they expected her to understand any of them. It didn't actually matter though.

"Listen!" she fought for control over the din. "Just get here, and you will all find out soon enough what the meeting is about. I will not answer any questions, and do not contact me directly on the disc."

"What if we're not going to be able to make it?" someone asked quietly, not wanting to get into trouble.

"If you cannot come, don't come," she answered. "Anyone who has not been around here today probably isn't involved in this issue anyway. For everyone else, the meeting starts in fifteen minutes, so I'll see you all soon."

She knew they meant well, but the rumors that were being spread around were getting to be quite unsettling. It was clear she'd made the right decision when Remiel met her on her way to the meeting.

"Did you know that Karina was a spy that we sent into other guilds to learn their War of Emperium secrets?" he asked her as they strode down the hallway together.

"Whom did you hear that from?" Missy laughed.

"You'd be surprised," he answered. "How did this get so far out of hand?"

"I really couldn't tell you. The most interesting thing is that everyone who came to me today even made a point of mentioning that they were told not to talk about her. Yet, clearly, everyone is!"

Remiel had to agree with that. It was amazing how quickly a simple piece of information—or the lack of information, in this case—could spread. The closeness of the guild had always been a _good_ thing in the past, though. Unfortunately, it was the problem here.

He slipped his arm around his wife. "Darling, I am so sorry for bringing this trouble to your guild. If I had had any idea how much of a problem it would be…"

"You would still have brought her," Missy finished for him. "It's your guild too, and that's what we're here for."

He didn't say anything.

She sighed. "Actually, it's not so bad…yet. If I'd had a little more warning, I might have chosen to hold this meeting before she came, so everyone would know what was going on up front. They are only reacting to being kept in the dark, which you know they're not used to in this guild."

"So what are you going to tell them?"

"Oh, no," she laughed again. "I'm not going to tell them anything. You are."

Remiel smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "I can do that."


	13. Chapter 12

As much as Rusalki enjoyed her new job, she disliked one thing about it. It was well into the morning, and she was only just heading to bed. It was a common occurrence.

The potential members she was charged with testing were usually newly changed assassins, having completed the quest no more than two weeks before their eighteenth birthdays. As such, they had a lot less work to do than they used to, without the rigors of thief training to keep them busy. For reasons Rusalki did not understand, they almost always chose to spend the time between their old lives and their new lives slacking off in town, playing in the desert, or fraternizing with other would-be Morano members.

Rusalki felt that most of them would be smart to begin their assassin training immediately, rather than wait for the guild to throw them out into the world with so little knowledge of their class. However, her job was not to give her opinion. Actually, it was her job to give her opinion, but not on how they spent their time, rather on how well they fought and if they should be allowed to advance in the guild.

On one particular night, her mark had returned to the guild campus drunk and not altogether in control of his faculties. Rusalki had incapacitated him easily. She would inform her father of the man's failure and let Rais decide if he deserved a chance to show his abilities sober. In the meantime, she needed to sleep while she could, knowing that the next day would bring with it another test.

She didn't make it to her room, though. In the dim, early morning light, she saw two men heading to the main campus building. They appeared to be in quite a rush; Rusalki couldn't help but be curious. She followed them into the building, though once inside, she didn't see them anymore. She made an educated guess and headed towards Rais's office.

The men had indeed gone into the guild leader's office, and Rusalki stood in the doorway, listening as they finished making their report. A new member had disappeared while completing his first mission; it happened now and then. These two men had already done their job, investigating the situation and determining the reason for the failure as best as they could.

"The mark is still alive, sir. We don't believe Natos even made an attempt. We could not find him anywhere, and we followed the mark all night. Our assessment is that Natos is a deserter."

Rusalki was disappointed to hear that it was Natos. Rais had been optimistic about him. For that matter, so had she.

She watched her father take in the news without reacting. He had to know what a blow this would be to the guild, considering that Natos would now have to be expelled and, most likely, killed.

The men continued with their report, informing Rais that Natos was, in fact, in Morroc, but they did not know where. The guild registrar's office allowed guild leaders and chosen representatives to access whereabouts of members, but only within a general area. The men had gone to the registry before returning, and been told simply, "Morroc."

_Not even smart enough to get as far away from here as possible_, Rusalki thought with amazement. Of course, it didn't matter where he went, they would have found him, but most people did not know about the location services provided by the guild registrar's office.

When the men were finished giving their information, Rais thanked them and they left. Rusalki stepped aside to let them through, and then walked into the office.

"I can be in Morroc in five minutes. I'll track him down for you," she offered. Suddenly she wasn't tired anymore. She couldn't possibly pass up this opportunity to face Natos in a real fight; surely he would fight as if his life depended on it this time.

Rais looked at her, but didn't speak right away. She stared back impatiently; she did have a test to administer this evening, so the sooner she could leave, the better.

When he finally spoke, he was shaking his head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I have a better idea."

* * *

Over the next few days, every time Pastor Lede showed up with a meal, Natos worried that he would be followed. Or that the knock on the door would be a violent pounding, after which an assassin would breeze in and slit his throat before he could pick up his own dagger. It was, however, uneventful.

Natos believed that it was at least partly because, as he had surmised earlier, Morroc was the last place Rais would expect him to be. They might not rule it out completely, but they'd likely not focus on this town.

Pastor Lede, however, credited their success in staying hidden to God. He seemed to credit a lot to God.

Whatever the reason, Natos was simply happy to be safe, though he knew he couldn't let his guard down anytime soon.

Three more days went by, and on the third morning, Natos woke early in anticipation of the coming day. The pastor had said it would probably be the day he could leave.

He took a shower and put on more of the clothes Pastor Lede had brought him. The pants were again a little long, and a new thought occurred to him. Would he be wearing clothes that didn't quite fit for as long as he was living with the Utan tribe, or at least until he wore them out? Or would the Utans have clothes for him? What kind of clothing did a tribe that lived in the middle of the jungle wear? It was one detail that hadn't been mentioned in Pastor Lede's journal.

Pulling the shirt on, Natos stared at his reflection in the mirror. This wouldn't do. He hadn't noticed it before, but this man's shirts had no collars. The top of the shirt rested at the base of his neck, and his neck was bare. Exposed. His guild's mark stared at him, mocking him.

_You'll never be free. You took me, completed me, of your own free choice. You're still a part of us._

And he was. He was still Natos Morano, and he was still a member of the Class of Morano guild. He would have to ask Pastor Lede if there was something he could do about that second one before he left.

He was about to leave the bathroom, when something in the mirror caught his eye. His hair…it looked off. Near his scalp, at his temples and along his forehead, it was a light color, a strong contrast to the normal dark brown. What was this? Why would his hair color be changing? He reached up and parted it in the center. It was blonde! That wasn't actually possible, was it?

Then he realized—he'd gone to a guild barber all of his life. Maybe they dyed it when they were cutting it. As he thought about it then, he could not recall ever seeing a single person in the guild with light-colored hair. It was all black or dark brown, though he'd never thought much about it before. Was this all just so that the guild assassins could fade into the shadows better? Blonde hair probably would be easier to spot in the dead of night.

A knock at the door brought his attention away from the mirror, and he left the bathroom, shaking his head. He knew the visitor would be Pastor Lede with finalized plans, and hopefully breakfast, but he surreptitiously peeked out the window anyway. It wasn't whom he was expecting, but he hurried to the door anyway, standing behind it as he opened it.

"Lysandra, good morning!" he greeted the woman eagerly. She stepped in, carrying a familiar box, and eyed him curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he shut and locked the door behind her.

"There's something different about you since the last time I saw you. You seem happy to see me, but I suspect that it has something to do with the food I'm carrying."

"That depends," Natos grew serious. "Was it made by Pastor Lede's sister?"

Lysandra glanced down at the box. "I believe so, yes."

He broke into a grin. "Then that happens to be a factor."

She set the box down on the table. "And what's the rest of it?"

Natos sat down and wasted no time pulling the food out of the box. "I had assumed that I wouldn't see you again before I disappeared. I am glad you were able to come."

Lysandra smiled to herself, taking a deep breath. She didn't want to start crying already. "Don't eat all of that; half of it is mine."

He hadn't started eating yet, but still he jumped up. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think to ask this time."

"Don't worry about it," she winked at him. "You've got a lot on your mind."

"You could say that," he chuckled. Looking around, he frowned. "I really wish there was another chair in here. This is about all we can do." He picked up the small table and moved it to the foot of the bed. He then slid the one chair over and left it out, gesturing for Lysandra to take it, while he sat on the bed.

"Thank you," the Kafra said with a smile as she took the seat. She couldn't help but be surprised by how considerate he was, given his upbringing. But then, he was trained to be a killer, not to be rude.

"What _does_ Pastor Lede use this apartment for?" Natos pondered, still thinking about the lone chair. "He obviously has somewhere else to live, so why does he keep a second place?"

"Pretty much for this," Lysandra answered him. He looked at her curiously, but she held up her index finger. Then she bowed her head, and Natos watched uncertainly as she prayed. She looked back up at Natos and continued the previous topic, urging him to begin eating.

"He said he told you about where the acolyte and priest guilds stand now."

Natos nodded.

"Sometimes when the young men or women come here seeking answers, they are displaced. Usually it is either someone who had been boarding at the Prontera sanctuary, or someone whose family has kicked them out because they don't want to blindly follow the teachings of the guilds. Pastor Emrys keeps this apartment for them to have somewhere to stay until they can arrange something more permanent."

Natos studied her as she spoke. "Do you live in Morroc too?" he questioned.

"No, but I did move here for a few years, before the Kafra Corporation relocated me back to Al de Baran. Before and since then, I have spent some time in this apartment myself, so I could be closer to the guild campus as I was searching for you."

They ate the rest of breakfast in silence. When they were done, Lysandra gathered the dishes before Natos could, and wouldn't accept his offer to help wash them. When she returned from the bathroom, it occurred to her that she'd had news for him when she'd come, and hadn't shared it with him yet.

"I talked to my friend who was stationed at the Morano campus," she began, sitting back down across the table from him.

"'Was' stationed there?" Natos echoed.

"She requested a transfer yesterday; Kafras have always rotated out of there more quickly than at any other station. She stayed long enough, though, to be able to tell me that something has definitely upset the leaders there. Not just upset, but angered. She didn't know any details, of course, but it's pretty safe to say that Rais knows you skipped out on them."

Natos's expression was grim. "It's a good thing I'm leaving today then."

"Yes, and about that, since I brought you breakfast today instead of Pastor Emrys, he asked me to let you know he'd be here at two this afternoon."

"Okay."

This was it then. He was definitely going to Umbala, and he might not be back for a very long time. There wasn't a lot for him to miss, really, but somehow, it still felt like everything. He looked at Lysandra, and she seemed to know what he was thinking about.

"Natos," she said, reaching across the table to touch his hand. "I'm really sorry we haven't had time to talk more, but I want you to take this with you to Umbala."

She pulled something out of her pocket and placed it carefully on the table.

"I can't take that," Natos protested. "It's addressed to you; it was never meant for me."

"But it was written _for_ you. That letter is the only reason you are sitting here right now, instead of in Rais's office with a man's blood on your hands."

"Thank you…so much."

She stood up and walked around the table, holding her hand out to help him up too. He took it and stood in front of her, right at eye level with her.

"I am just so happy to have family again," she told him. "I spent so long focusing on nothing but you, and getting you away from that place…I'd almost forgotten that you are my nephew. I know you're leaving, but you'll be free. And you know, I think we'll see each other more often than you might think."

He raised his eyebrows, but knew he didn't need to ask the question.

"A remote tribal village isn't so remote when you know a priest who can send you there with a warp portal."

"Pastor Lede?" he guessed in surprise.

She nodded. "He doesn't use it often…well, never, I'd wager. But he always liked having the option. I think that was why he thought of this so quickly. It was in the back of his mind as an opportunity, should the need arise. How did you think you were getting there?"

"Honestly…I thought I'd be walking. I was expecting some sort of long hike through the jungle with one of the tribesmen to guide me."

Lysandra laughed, a soft, lilting laugh that he was happy to hear.

And she was happy to laugh. It felt like she had spent eighteen years holding her breath, worried that she would be too late, worried that she would be found out, worried that he would spit in her face and embrace his life as an assassin. But now, it felt like coming home.

Her eyes fell on the "M" branded on his neck. She did wish she had found him sooner. If she had pulled him out when he was younger, the leader might not have been so angry. He might have dismissed it as another training accident. And she could have raised him in her home in Al de Baran. He wouldn't have to go away. The victory was bittersweet.


	14. Chapter 13

While the members of Collegato were flocking to the castle and gathering in one room, Karina decided she was tired of sitting around her room. She had, in fact, been out for a bit that morning, and she thought it had gone smoothly. She'd seen a few other people, but none of them seemed to pay any attention to her. It was probably a very big guild. What was the likelihood that anyone would know at first glance that she wasn't a member? Besides, if they did, that wasn't really her problem; Remiel had chosen to bring her there, knowing that it might raise some questions.

For some reason, she was drawn back to the room she had met Varin in. Maybe in the daylight, it would be more obvious what the room was for. It took her a while to find her way back to it, but soon enough, she recognized the hallway it had been in. She stuck her head in; it was empty. As she was about to walk in, she heard voices nearby. They were coming from a room a few doors down.

She approached the doorway slowly and peeked in. It was a large room, with few furnishings or decoration. There were, however, about thirty chairs, and all but a few were occupied.

Karina pulled back quickly, hoping she hadn't been seen. They were having some sort of meeting.

"I know a lot of you have either seen or heard about our visitor," Remiel addressed the others from the front of the room.

There were a few murmurs amongst the members.

"Some of you have already been told not to spread anything around, but Missy and I have both been hearing some rather disturbing rumors."

A few people began to protest before Remiel raised his hands to silence them.

"I am not blaming anyone, especially since the one thing I heard the most was, 'We aren't supposed to talk about her.' But listen—she's not a fugitive, or a spy, or whatever preposterous inventions you may have heard."

There were a few titters from the guild.

"She is just a woman who was badly in need of a place to stay for a few days. As most, if not all, of you are aware, it is officially against the rules to allow someone to stay in a castle overnight, if they do not belong to the guild. _I_ will tell you, since this was my doing, that I am very sorry if it makes any of you uncomfortable. I can assure you, if necessary, I will take full responsibility for that."

Missy, who had been standing next to her husband as he addressed the members, spoke up to add, "Remiel and I will _both_ take responsibility if a problem comes up."

He looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

"What? It is my guild, after all, and I told you it was okay. I think that alone puts my claim to the responsibility far above yours."

He stared at her for a few more seconds, unsure whether to be frustrated or pleased. He was trying to protect her from any repercussions, but her loyalty was astounding.

"One of the reasons we did not inform you all of the situation sooner," he continued talking to the crowd, "was because we did not want to worry you. As you can see, though, none of you will be held culpable for any misconduct here."

"What does that mean, exactly?" a hunter near the front called out.

Missy answered him. "I did a little research earlier today. There have only been two instances of a guild being caught 'boarding a non-member,' and neither of them were even quite the same as what we are doing here. Our friend isn't a member of any of the class guilds either. Anyway, both situations turned out the same—the guild leader left the guild."

"But let's not jump to the worst-case-scenario right away," Remiel pleaded. "Varin and I are accompanying her to Morroc soon, and most likely, that will be the end of it."

"Wait a second," a dancer on the left side of the room spoke up. "Are you saying that we might lose our guild leader over this?"

"No, no," Remiel answered. "Well, technically, yes. But that wasn't even the purpose of this meeting, and it is certainly not very likely to happen. We just need to keep a lid on this whole thing for a bit more, which _was_ the purpose of this meeting. If everyone knows what's going on, hopefully there will be no more gossip."

"But we don't even _know_ what's going on," the hunter who'd spoken first pointed out.

Everyone began to speak at once again, and no one noticed an assassin in the back slip out the door.

Sinden had been in the back of the room, and looked up just in time to see a woman he didn't recognize in the hallway. While the rest of his guild mates discussed the situation, he followed the "situation" down the hall and into Varin's quiet room.

Karina walked all the way into the room and sat down on the chair. She slumped forward and dropped her head into her right hand, but only for a second. When she heard a voice behind her, she jumped up quickly and turned to see who had followed her.

"Did you hear all of that?" the voice asked her.

"Uh…" The last thing Karina needed now was to have this tall, bald man angry with her for eavesdropping on his guild's meeting. But he didn't look angry; he looked…sympathetic. She finally found her voice. "Enough of it."

"Yeah…enough to feel like you're single-handedly tearing our guild apart, right?"

"What?" Karina gasped, appalled by the phrase he had used. She quickly crossed her arms. "I-I didn't mean to do that!"

"Oh, I didn't say you were. But it sure is what they make it sound like, isn't it?"

Karina didn't answer. She was still reeling from his words.

"Other guilds let their friends and allies stay the night in their castles all the time. _Two_ instances where they were caught? Who's worried here? I like my guild; they're a great bunch of people, I mean that. But sometimes they over-dramatize things, as you have just witnessed."

She shrugged. "I guess."

"No, seriously. There's barely a person in the guild who doesn't have some sort of amazing story to tell about something that happened to them before they joined the guild, or after, or even _when_ they joined."

"What about you?" Karina questioned curiously.

"Oh, I've got nothin' but stories," he winked at her with a chuckle. "Maybe someday I'll tell 'em to ya."

_Not likely_, she thought dryly. She didn't respond out loud, and he didn't say anything further. They sat in silence for a few seconds.

"What about Remiel?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could. "Does he have a dramatic history?"

"Well, let's see. He's the only high priest in Rune-Midgard—as far as I know, anyway. You figure there's gotta be somethin' pretty huge that happened to him."

"Do you know what that is?"

"I've heard stuff, yeah—never from him directly, though. I don't think he likes to talk about it much."

"Oh," Karina said, trying to mask her disappointment. She refrained from asking what "stuff" he had heard about the high priest.

"So, uh…hey, what's your name, anyway?" the assassin asked.

"Karina," she answered hesitantly.

"Well, Karina, it's nice to meet you. My name is Sinden. You can slap me and storm off if you want, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling me what brought you here. I must have missed the gossip-fest that has our fine leaders so upset," he lied. He had heard his share of the rumors, but he tried to forget them now.

"Um…I'd really rather not say."

Sinden could sense the shift in her comfort level with those questions, so he steered the conversation back to the original topic.

"How about a story I _do_ know then? If you're going to stay here, you should know a little about our biggest tradition here at Collegato."

He had her attention, so he continued. "When I first joined, I found out that every time we retain the castle after a War of Emperium weekend, we celebrate by kickin' around down in the dungeon below Payon. Not the old caves, but one of those four they just found a few years ago. It's always lots of fun; these guys do know how to have a good time while bashin' in some undead, and other nasty creatures. But then I found out why we do this. Or at least why some people do it. I found out how the tradition got started, let's just say that."

He stopped there and looked at Karina, hoping for some sort of prompt.

"Something dramatic?"

"Oh, you bet it is! The story goes back to when War of Emperium was still new…"

* * *

"I don't see why it has to be such a big secret," a man named Bakten said a few doors down. "Anyone who has been to Al de Baran has to know what's going on here."

Remiel glanced at Missy and replied, "I never said it was a secret; I just didn't see a reason to share the woman's personal problems with everyone."

The rogue shrugged. "It seems only fair that everyone know what we're getting ourselves into here."

"You are not getting into anything," Remiel countered. "That is exactly what we just said. This is our responsibility alone; the entire guild doesn't need the details to gossip about."

"They're going to gossip anyway," Bakten argued. "All it takes is a gap in the information, and they'll make up their own."

"Especially now," Remiel muttered. "The intent here was not to hide anything. Karina has recently gone through a divorce and has had nowhere to stay for a few months. We brought her here until a friend of mine in Morroc is available to help her get back onto her feet. Trust me when I say that this is all the information there is to share. _Anything_ else that is being discussed after this is unsubstantiated, unless I am given proof otherwise. And I _especially_ do not want to hear that Collegato is spreading gossip around, within the guild or elsewhere."

When they let everyone go, Missy was more worried than ever.

"I really don't think we handled this very well," she said, reaching up with both of her hands to smooth down her long hair. It was a nervous habit that she'd had for years, though it worked much better when her hair was shorter.

Remiel stood in front of her and pulled her arms down, forcing her to concentrate on him. "Darling, you have to calm down," he told her. "Varin and I will be going with her to Morroc tomorrow. Until then, there is nothing you can do."

"They hate us."

"Who, the guild?"

"Yes. Couldn't you sense it? They are angry with us for putting the guild into potential danger, and it's my fault."

"No. I didn't get that at all. If anything, they are worried about what might happen to us—to you—but that is just because they all love you. And they could not possibly blame you for this, because I made it clear that it was my fault."

"That doesn't mean anything. I am still the guild leader, so the decision was ultimately mine."

"Missy." He didn't say anything else, because he was waiting for her to look at him. When she finally did, he said, "You need to find something to do to take your mind off this. Come on."

They left the room together, and headed down the hall. They didn't get far before Missy stopped, hearing voices coming from somewhere that voices never came from. She couldn't help but be curious, so she peeked into Varin's quiet room. It was Karina…with Sinden. They were talking and laughing like they were old friends.

"Uh, hey guys," she called to them. "What's going on?"

"Hey, Missy," Sinden greeted her. "Nothing, we're just chatting."

"Sinden, did you make it to the meeting?"

"Yep. I caught all the important stuff."

"Okay then." She didn't say anything else, but she didn't move to leave yet either. She had a hard time leaving the woman alone with someone from her guild—especially a man.

"Um, have either of you seen Varin lately?" she asked lamely, not even sure herself if that was supposed to sound like it was the reason she'd come in here or not.

Karina started to shake her head, but Sinden pointed out the window and said, "Yeah, he's right out there."

"Okay, thanks." Missy walked back out to where Remiel was waiting and ignored the look he was giving her as they headed downstairs.

Back in the small room, Karina had stood up and walked to the window. From the right angle, one could, in fact, see the monk outside. It was still raining, and had been most of the day, so everything out there was quite wet. He was sitting right up against the castle wall, under a slight overhang, which was only keeping him somewhat dry. He was sitting on a blanket, but the water had started to creep up it too.

"What is he doing out there?" she wondered.

"Sitting."

She looked back at the assassin, expecting more.

He shrugged. "He just sits. He's outside most time the sun's up. Guess he really likes nature. I've never understood it myself; seems like a very boring life."

Karina had to agree. She just shook her head and sat back down. Glancing back at the door, she changed the subject.

"Do you mind if I ask how old you are?"

"Not at all!" he replied exuberantly.

After a few seconds of silence, Karina laughed when she realized that he was waiting for her to actually ask it.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Really?" She was expecting at least seven years more than that. She watched him carefully, waiting to see if he was serious. She was beginning to realize that he was a joker.

"You want to see my assassin guild identification?" he asked, reaching toward his pocket.

"No, that's okay," she held up a hand to stop him. "You just look…"

"A lot older," he finished for her. He dropped his voice to a whisper. "It's okay, you can say it. I know all about it."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to insult you."

He returned to his normal voice, "Why would I care if people think I'm forty? As long as I don't feel forty—and I don't—that's all that matters. Besides, I happen to think that my looks make people think I'm mature. It's just my mouth that ruins the image."

"Your mouth? What's wrong with your mou—ohh," she laughed again. "What comes _out_ of your mouth." As soon as she said it, she felt stupid for explaining it for him. It made the joke that much less funny.

"So why do you ask about my age?"

"Doesn't it bother you that a woman who's—what, five or six years younger than you?—treats you like she's your mother? She clearly did not want you in here talking to me."

Sinden thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I've never really thought about it. Comes with being a guild leader, I guess. She has to be like that, to keep everything running smoothly. Although, you're definitely right about her not wantin' to leave me with you." He eyed Karina. "I wonder why that would be."

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Was he going to keep pushing until she told him? If he did, she would retreat to her room before telling him. It had been quite nice to sit here and have a conversation with someone who wasn't constantly thinking of her as an adulterer. She would be disappointed if it ended now.

However, the assassin quickly flashed her a wide grin and moved on to a completely new topic.


	15. Chapter 14

"Aunt Lysandra," Natos addressed the Kafra with her official title. It felt foreign to both of them. "I was hoping you could help me with something."

"I'll certainly do anything I can," she said emotionally.

"Do you know how one officially leaves a guild?"

She had not even considered that. It did make sense though; he would want to be rid of that burden before he started his new life in Umbala.

"It's actually quite simple. The guild registrar's office is right here in Morroc. You can just go there and inform them; they'll make sure a notice is sent to your guild leader."

"To Rais," Natos clarified. "Maybe it's not such a good idea then."

"I'm sure it would come as no surprise to him."

"No, but it would anger him more. Besides, it would give him proof that I'm still alive."

"It won't matter after two o'clock. Come on; I'll go with you."

"Ohh, no," Natos asserted. "It's not safe. If I'm found, or even spotted, I do not want them knowing you have anything to do with me."

Lysandra opened her mouth to protest, but Natos stopped her.

"You're the one who went back to Al de Baran to avoid suspicion. And it was probably a good idea. Even I don't know what Rais would do to you if he thought you knew where I was. You can bet it would be horrible though. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you, especially because of me."

Lysandra's face relaxed, and her eyes filled with tears, which she made no attempt to stop this time.

"Please, just stay here," Natos requested. "Point me in the direction of the registrar's office, and I'll be back soon."

She conceded and told him where the office was, northwest of the apartment. He donned Pastor Lede's coat, wishing it were cooler outside, so he could pull the collar up around his face without looking too conspicuous. He questioned wearing the coat at all, since they might expect him to be wearing that more than the plainclothes disguise. If only he could force his hair to return completely to its natural color, it might be a better disguise than the hat.

As it turned out, he needed both the coat and hat. It had started to rain a little since Lysandra had arrived. It wasn't much, and the temperature was still nice, but the coat and hat would definitely blend in well.

He stepped out the door, and heard a whispered, "Be careful!" before it closed behind him. He heard the click of the lock as he stepped off the short stoop, glancing around warily.

Class of Morano members were trained well in the practice of blending into the darkness, approaching without detection, and disappearing in a heartbeat. They were to be the predators, always stalking. There was little preparation for a situation like this, where the member was the one being hunted. It wasn't an issue, never expected to happen. They were too good for that. Also, Natos suspected, if a member were stupid or clumsy enough to be found out, the guild probably wanted nothing to do with that person anymore, and would rather they be caught.

Unfortunately for Natos, the lack of training also made it difficult for a deserter of the guild to escape the pursuers that were sent after him. One thing he did know was to keep it from being obvious that he was so intently focused on his surroundings. His eyes darted around, but his head stared straight ahead. He tried not to walk hunched over, as if he was trying hide. While he couldn't display his face for all to see, he didn't want it to be apparent that he was trying to conceal it.

He walked quickly through the light drizzle, resisting his urge to run. When he reached the building, though, he almost laughed at himself for being so nervous. He was in Morroc. No one cared who was out on the streets. Of course, it wasn't just any random person on the street that he was worried about—it was the members of Morano that he knew were out there somewhere. It only took one of them to spot him, and he may not even know that one had until they had buried a katar in his back.

He entered the foyer and shook some of the water off his coat. He removed his hat, but decided against hanging it or his coat on the hooks to his right. He stepped through the next doorway, and found a small room with one desk. The woman behind the desk smiled at him.

"May I help you?" she asked pleasantly.

"I was told that I can officially leave my guild here," he said, right to business.

"Well, yes, I can do that for you. We do suggest that you tell your guild leader yourself, and have him or her remove you, though. It is more polite than an impersonal notice in the mail from this office."

He almost laughed in her impersonally smiling face, but he remained professional.

"No, I would prefer to do it this way."

"Okay then. I just need your name and the name of your guild."

_This should be interesting_, he thought with amusement.

"My name is Natos Morano, and the guild is called Class of Morano."

She wrote his words down on the correct lines of the form in front of her, and then looked up at him. Her smile was more forced now.

"O-okay. Are you sure you wouldn't like to leave personally? I'm sure the leader would appreciate it."

"No, I really wouldn't. I really can't," he understated. "You can remove me from that guild, right?"

"I can," she admitted. "I'm just not sure if I _want_ to."

"Why?" Natos questioned suspiciously. He prayed that this woman, or even this whole office, wasn't under Rais's influence. What if this was how they caught their defectors? The registrar stalled them when they came in to leave the guild remotely.

"I've heard things about that guild," the woman explained shakily. "I almost wonder what they might do to _me_ just for sending a notice that one of their members has left them."

Natos let out a strained laugh of relief, and the woman looked at him strangely.

"Believe me, Rais is not really the 'kill the messenger' type," he assured her.

She nodded, though didn't look completely convinced.

Confident that she would take care of his extraction, he left the office, replacing the hat on his head. The wind had picked up while he was inside, and was blowing the now steady rainfall around hard. The sky was now much darker and more menacing, and he wondered if the downpour would start soon. He pulled the coat tighter around his neck, and began heading in the direction of the apartment, glad for an excuse to walk faster than before. He hoped he just looked like he was trying to get out of the rain.

Unlike the first day, when it had been night and he'd been in the company of two other people, tonight, he stayed off the street. He walked closer to the buildings, which sometimes even blocked the rain on the way there. For the return trip, there was nowhere to hide from the windblown drops.

Later, he would question whether he would have had any indication of the attacker if it hadn't been for the rain. One of the Utan tribesmen would suggest that God had provided the means for him to detect the enemy. Whatever the reason, Natos was grateful for it.

He was only about a block from the apartment when he saw a strange pattern on a wall he was passing. It was as if something had been against the wall for most of the rainstorm, and there was now a large area of dry brick amongst the darker, wet ones. It took Natos only a second to process that, given the size and shape of the void, it had probably been made by a person. Under the circumstances, it could very likely be someone _hiding_ there, waiting for him to pass so they could attack.

He stopped, knowing that the assassin could already be halfway to him by now. He stared at the ground, hoping that his enemy's footsteps on the wet road would reveal his or her location. He heard someone swear, and it sounded like it came from the wall.

It _had _come from the wall. The unseen assassin had no more learned to move while hidden than Natos had. He cursed the rain for ruining his certain win. Now he would have to fight his brother on even ground.

Natos was already on the defensive, rushing toward the dry spot on the wall. He reached the wall just as the assassin reappeared, and punched the taller man's face before registering it.

"Acronis?" Natos yelled in disbelief.

Acronis had recoiled from the attack, but wanted to use Natos's surprise to his advantage. He thrust forward with one dagger. Natos stopped the dagger before it pierced his body, with plenty of room to spare, by grabbing Acronis's hand between both of his own. He then forcibly flipped the dagger out of the hand, injuring the wrist in the process. Acronis howled in pain, but he knew he couldn't let it slow him down.

He swung the dagger in his left hand at Natos's mid-section. The weapon sliced through nothing but coat as Natos jumped back nimbly. The older assassin then turned to his right and ran a few steps before rolling along the ground, retrieving Acronis's lost dagger in the process.

Turning back to face his opponent, Natos reached quickly into the coat to draw one of his own daggers. He pulled his hand back out empty, deciding against it. He stood still, raising his left hand to show that it was still empty.

"Acronis, what are you doing here?"

The other assassin sneered. "What did you think, that Rais would just let you betray the guild without any repercussions?"

"No, of course not. But are you saying that you're the one they sent after me? You're not even a full member yet."

"Have you lost track of your days since you've been away? My birthday is today."

Natos said nothing. Rais must have held his induction _early_ this morning, or even last night, for Acronis to already be here waiting for him.

Acronis began circling him while he talked. "Rais was concerned that whatever caused you to run might have also influenced me somehow." He let out a bitter laugh. "I don't know what you're doing, _brother_, but I still wasn't able to fully convince them that I'm not with you. That's why the sent me after you. If I kill you, they let me stay; if I don't…well, that will only happen if you kill me instead."

"I'm not going to kill you," Natos told him, constantly moving to keep Acronis in front of him.

"I know," Acronis nodded with a sardonic grin.

"You're not going to kill me either."

Acronis just kept grinning, but stopped moving.

"Acronis…"

The younger assassin rushed forward with his dagger in front. Natos sidestepped it easily, but wasn't expecting the second dagger that Acronis must have just drawn. The stiletto caught him in the shoulder, and he grunted in surprise, stumbling away.

"I think you'll find that I've improved since we last sparred," Acronis boasted. He kicked Natos in the side of the knee, knocking him to the ground.


	16. Chapter 15

Natos scrambled to the wall, turned his back to it, and watched Acronis approach him rapidly. He waited for him to be close enough, then swung his arm out, catching both of Acronis's legs, and knocking him down next to him. Both got to their feet quickly.

Immediately after, Acronis lashed out with his right dagger, and Natos blocked his arm with his own, reaching over top with his other hand and bringing his fist down on the handle of the dagger. Acronis dropped it, unable to hold on with that wrist already in great pain.

He cursed, scrambling after the dagger. Natos kicked him from behind, sending him sprawling. Then Natos scooped the dagger up himself. Now he had one in each hand, and still two hanging from his belt.

Acronis wasn't getting up as quickly this time, so Natos took the opportunity to walk over and kick the man's last dagger out of his left hand. Acronis watched as it went sliding across the cobblestone street, taking any hope of victory with it. Natos retrieved the dagger, and then came back to Acronis, who had chosen to hide himself, in some desperate attempt to confuse his opponent.

Natos almost laughed. Acronis never had been extremely bright.

"I told you, I'm not going to kill you," he reminded his ex-guild mate.

"You can't leave me alive," Acronis warned him. "It doesn't work that way. The fight ends when one of us dies, and if you can't handle that…then you lose by default."

"What are you going to do? You're beaten."

"Go then. Walk away. You won't make it ten feet. I will not go back to Morano without completing my task. I can't let you ruin my life more than you already have!"

"This is not my fault. None of it is. They did this to you, just like they did it to me. You don't want to go back and tell them you failed? Don't go back!"

Acronis scoffed at that, reappearing in front of Natos. "Right, like it's that easy."

Natos took a few steps backwards, as if to walk away. "It's not easy. But it is possible."

"Stop!" Acronis screamed at him, as Natos kept moving away from him. "You think you can get away? No matter what happens to me, even if they think I spared you, they'll send more after you. They'll never stop looking for you; you'll always be hunted!"

Natos didn't stop, and in fact, he turned his back to Acronis and started walking normally. He heard the sound of the man behind him struggling to his feet, and closed his eyes. As much as he had hoped Acronis would just stay down, he knew it wasn't going to happen that way. But still Natos kept moving.

He listened and calculated, and when he was sure that Acronis was right behind him, he whipped around and bashed him in the head. Acronis fell to the ground with a quiet thud.

Natos knelt down and placed two fingers to the man's neck. He had a pulse. It was weak, but it would have to do for now. Natos needed to get off the street. He could only hope that Rais hadn't sent someone to watch Acronis in his initiation task, as they hadn't for him. If they had, that person would probably have stepped in sooner, when Acronis had clearly lost. But he couldn't be sure.

He ran to the apartment, not caring how suspicious he looked anymore. The door opened to allow him entrance before he'd even fully reached it. Lysandra had been watching for him, worried to death at how long it had taken him.

"Are you okay?" she asked frantically, having noticed him limping as he approached outside. Then she saw that his shoulder was injured. "What happened?"

Natos explained quickly, adding, "He's right too. After this, they'll know where I am. I have to leave now."

"We can probably find Emrys and ask him to just send you now," she suggested. "I don't know for sure where he'll be, though; we can check the church first, then—"

"No, I can't go running around Morroc now, especially not like this."

"So…do you want me to bring him here?"

"I really do hate to upset his day…" Natos sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn't help but feel like he was ruining these two people's lives. Especially Pastor Lede, who wasn't even as involved in the whole matter as Lysandra was. At least Lysandra was family.

"Don't even think about it," Lysandra assured him. "This is important to him too; he's only keeping his normal meetings today for the same reason I went back to Al de Baran before. He'll understand the severity of the situation now."

Natos nodded in concession. "It should be safe for you to leave; if anyone had seen me with Acronis, I'm sure they'd be here by now. Besides, apparently Morano doesn't tend to monitor their newer members like I had thought they might. Though maybe they'll change that policy after this." He chuckled wryly.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Lysandra said as she left.

Once she was gone, Natos dumped his new collection of weapons onto the table. He wouldn't need them where he was going. But then, he was supposed to be one of their warriors, killing beasts in the jungle and hunting food. He picked his own daggers out of the pile, deciding to take those.

One was a quadruple bloody main gauche; he and Acronis had once spent weeks in Bibilan farming hydras for the eight cards—four for each of them. It had been strongly suggested by their instructors and trainers to construct a weapon with hydra cards, though at the time, neither fully understood why the ability to cause more damage to humans was necessary. Now it just seemed ghastly to Natos to even have it, and he didn't expect to need the enchantment that the cards gave when he was living with the Utans. But he'd paid a lot of money to have the blade of the dagger strengthened quite a bit, so it was still a useful weapon.

His other dagger was a stiletto with a fire enchantment on it. He had saved for a long time to be able to afford it, and had even traveled to Alberta to buy the stiletto directly from the blacksmith who'd crafted it. He'd spent half the day there, watching the man work, amazed at what one person could do with a hammer and a piece of hot steel.

The fire stiletto had been a recent purchase; he'd only acquired the rest of the money about a week before he became an assassin. Acronis had laughed at him for buying it—and for being gone all day to do it.

"When will you ever need that?" the younger assassin had asked. "You think that after your birthday you are ever going to fight a monster again?"

"I might," Natos had frowned, looking at the dagger in his hands. He didn't care; it was still an incredible dagger, whether it was ever useful or not.

Looking at the dagger now, Natos chuckled. Maybe he would have become a blacksmith instead of an assassin, if he'd been given the choice. He had certainly always admired the craftsmanship and detail that went into weapons, more than most of his guild mates.

He placed both of the weapons in their sheaths now, and walked over to the bed to sit down. He picked up Pastor Lede's journal of his time with the Utans, and again contemplated what he was about to do. He was going to turn his whole life upside down, essentially traveling to a completely different world. He had no idea how long he would be there, or how he would even know when it was time to leave…if ever.

Somehow, he was expecting to be nervous, scared, or even panicky. But he wasn't. He was calm. It might be new and difficult, but he would be safe, and so would his family.

_My family. That's a different mindset—to care about what happens to my family. To _have_ a family to care about._ The other members of the Class of Morano might have been his legal family, but that had never meant anything to him before. He barely even knew any of them, including his old roommate.

_Acronis!_ His mind flashed to the man lying along the side of the street. A knock at his door startled him, and he jumped up and ran to the window. Natos was already talking as Pastor Lede and Lysandra entered.

"I can't leave him there like that!" he insisted. "If Rais sends someone to find him, and he's unconscious, they'll probably just kill him. He needs a fighting chance."

Lysandra had already filled Pastor Lede in on the way, so he didn't need an explanation.

"Whoa, calm down," he said. "Where is he?"

"He's just around the corner of the building. He should be against the wall. I hope someone else didn't already find him! I should have brought him back with me."

"You couldn't have done that," Lysandra reasoned. "He's heavier than you, and who knows what kind of attention that would have drawn."

Natos looked at Lysandra questioningly. Sometimes he forgot that she had been watching him and Acronis for a while before she finally found the opportunity to talk to Natos.

"Come on, then, let's go make sure he's okay," Natos urged.

Pastor Lede shook his head. "The only place you're going is Umbala."

"But—"

"Natos, we did not go to all of this trouble only to risk it all now. Now I promise, as soon as you are off, we will go and find the boy and heal him. It will appear that I just happened to stumble across him, and no one will connect us to you."

Natos hesitated, but finally nodded.

"Okay then. Are you ready?"

He looked around. It wasn't as if he had many belongings to gather up, or any other preparations at all to make. He already knew that the assassin uniform wasn't going with him, which was not a hard decision to make. But then he remembered that the clothes he was wearing were not his to keep.

"You're going to have to give me a minute to change back into my own clothes," he said. "I certainly don't need to be stealing your friend's."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Pastor Lede assured him. "I will take back the other set here, and use the church treasury to repay him for the ones you're wearing. I made sure to request clothes that he didn't care much about, for this very reason."

"Oh…okay," Natos said uncertainly. This was all foreign to him, people being so kind and helpful. "I suppose I'm ready then."

"Hold on a second!" Lysandra protested. "_I'm_ not ready."

Both men looked at her with great confusion.

"Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Natos gave an embarrassed chuckle. "I guess I hadn't really thought about it," he admitted.

She flashed him a stern look, then walked over and gave him a hug. He hesitated before returning the embrace.

"You know, your mother had blonde hair," Lysandra mused quietly, pulling back and looking up at the top of Natos's head. "I didn't understand at first why your hair was so dark, because even your father's hair was a very light color."

She'd spotted the blonde starting to grow back in. It was such a small thing, really, but it meant so much. It was the first physical indication of his rebellion towards those who had always controlled his life.

"Be safe," Lysandra said emotionally. "And try to relax a little, enjoy yourself. Remember—you just got your life back!"

Natos smiled at her words. He could imagine that this was what having a mother might be like. He would certainly look forward to her visits.

"Goodbye, dear," she finally pulled away

"Goodbye, Aunt Lysandra," Natos replied, squeezing her hand. He turned to Pastor Lede. "Do it."


	17. Chapter 16

On Tuesday morning, two days after Remiel had brought Karina into his guild's home, he met her and Varin in the foyer of the castle.

"Karina, do you have everything?" he asked her.

"As much as there is to have," she replied wryly. Her luggage only consisted of a few articles of clothing that Lys had given her.

"Okay, let's head outside the castle, then, and I'll cast the portal."

If Karina had realized they would be leaving so early in the morning, she might have at least said goodbye to Sinden before she went to bed the previous day, and thanked him for the nice time talking. It probably wouldn't matter, though; he would soon hear about her discrepancies, as the rest of his guild had. And then, he would never think of her the same anyway.

Her eyes began to fill lightly with tears as she followed the high priest and monk, and she wiped them away quickly. Considering the way she'd been regarded in the castle, she should be happy to leave. She would be better off with the life of solitary she assumed she'd soon be living.

Once they were through the large, wooden front door, Remiel went through the short ritual of opening a portal to another place, and all three stepped into it.

Karina had only seen Morroc in pictures. Despite the storms in the eastern cities, this city was just as hot, dry, and sandy as it looked. They were on the move as soon as they were all through the portal, giving Karina very little time to take in the new city sights.

They only walked a few feet before reaching their destination, a plain brick building, which Remiel did not hesitate to open the door and walk into. The other two were right behind him. They walked straight up the center of the sanctuary, though Karina could barely see in the dark room.

"What if he has not returned yet?" Varin asked.

"I'm not sure," Remiel admitted, "but we probably should not take her back to the castle. That was a bad enough idea on my part the first time."

"Oh come on, it wasn't so bad," Karina spoke up. "Just because everyone gave me nasty looks and whispered all through supper last night doesn't mean they hold any bad feelings towards me."

Remiel looked back at her curiously. He had not missed the sarcasm in her voice, but it seemed a little odd coming from her. He couldn't blame her though. Supper the previous night really had been horrible. He had thought that after the meeting the guild had, Karina could join them all for supper with little trouble. He'd been wrong.

The tension during the meal had been excruciatingly high, and everyone felt it. Conversation was minimal—or at least, normal conversation was minimal. Most of the talking was done in whispers, with indiscreet glances toward Karina now and then. Knowing that he was responsible for putting the poor woman in that situation in the first place, Remiel eventually had enough of the mortifying behavior of those at the table. He stood up abruptly, surprising the room—himself included—with an ardent lecture on how human beings should be treated, which culminated in his storming out of the dining room.

The rest of the night had been quiet, but he was still glad to get out of the castle the next day.

"Sorry," Karina said as they walked up the center aisle in the sanctuary. "Your guild has some very nice people in it, Remiel, but they clearly do not like someone from the outside coming in and disrupting things."

"It probably would not have been so bad if the consequences involved with you being there wouldn't have been concentrated on so heavily."

"It would not have been so bad if everyone would have minded their own business," Varin pointed out.

Remiel knew that most of the members of Collegato felt that what happened in the castle _was_ their business. Usually, it wasn't a problem. In this situation, however, he couldn't help but agree with Varin.

Karina was just surprised at how much Varin had said since they'd gotten to the church.

The three of them walked to the small office on the side of the sanctuary, and Varin, reaching the door first, knocked on it.

There were a few seconds of silence, and then they heard, "Come on in!"

Pastor Emrys Lede never seemed to age. He looked as the same as he had when Remiel had first met him, almost ten years before. He stood with the ease of a young man and stepped around the desk.

"Varin! It is so good to see you, my boy." He went to shake the monk's hand before noticing who was standing behind him. "Remiel, to what do I owe this pleasure? Ah, and who is this?"

"Pastor, this is Karina Eniola. She has recently been kicked out of her home, and we were wondering if you could help her."

"Right to the point as usual, I see," Emrys smiled. "Well now, let's see here." He noted Karina's age and questioned, "Priest or monk?"

"Neither."

"Hmm?"

"You see, this is a rather special case." He looked at Karina, wondering if she might want to explain for herself. She shook her head ever so slightly, but he got the message. "She does not belong to either of those classes, nor does she to any class guild."

"No? What do we have here, then? Some sort of basic domestic trouble?"

"Not quite so basic. She has been living on the streets of Al de Baran for two months, only surviving on food given to her by strangers." He was careful how he worded it. That much, at least, he knew was truth. "She has been divorced by her husband, who had no care to see that she was taken care of."

"And you are wanting me to find somewhere for her to live?"

"Any help you can provide to help her start a life of her own would be appreciated."

"Hmm, well, let's see what we can come up with."

* * *

Back at the Collegato guild castle, the inhabitants had mostly settled down. After an outburst by such a normally calm person as Remiel, the members seemed to have no desire to gossip anymore, which suited Missy just fine. After lunch, she decided to work on some more potions, and spent a few quiet hours in the alchemy lab.

It was fortunate that when the bald assassin barged into the lab, surprising Missy, she was mixing a batch of white potions, rather than anything dangerous.

"Sinden! That sign is on the door for a reason!" she chastised him, trying not to sound too harsh.

He knew about the "Please knock…quietly" sign, but today, he didn't particularly care. In fact, an explosion might have been just the entrance he needed.

"Is it true that Karina is already gone?" he asked her without any prelude.

"Yes, it is. She left with Remi and Varin this morning," Missy answered calmly.

"Why?"

Missy raised her eyebrows. "Why did she leave? You said you were there for the meeting."

"I was, and I'm not askin' why she had to leave at all. Remiel said she would be going to Morroc 'soon,' not immediately the next morning."

"I don't see the problem here, Sinden."

"I just…" He didn't actually know what he even wanted to say. He knew why he was upset, but he was unsure how to put it into words for her. "I would have liked to say goodbye."

Missy stared at him blankly for a few seconds, waiting to hear if there was more, or if that really was all of it. When he said nothing further, she groped for her own words.

"Well…I'm sorry about that. We didn't know that anyone felt that way." Remembering the way they were talking the previous night, as if they were already good friends, she added, "You're not really looking to be friends with that woman, are you?"

The look on his face gave Missy a definite indication that she had said the wrong thing.

"Is that really your business?" he retorted.

"No, I guess it's not. But…I think it's only fair if you know what you're dealing with." Was she really perpetuating the gossip now? Her brain was yelling at her to stop, but her mouth was apparently not a good listener.

Sinden waved his hand to dismiss her words. "I've heard what the others are sayin' about her. But you, of all people, are not suggesting that I judge someone based on the rumors floating around about them, are you?"

"It's not all rumor," her mouth said, ignoring her brain's protests.

"Okay then, Missy. You tell me what of it is true. I have heard a lot of things—that she was married once and cheated on her husband, so he had to divorce her; that she lives on the streets and works as a prostitute; that she's on the run from the Al de Baran officials; that people who help her are usually never heard from again; and let's not forget the one that she offered _your husband_ whatever he wants in return for helpin' her. And I think you know what I mean by that.

"Am I just supposed to believe that all of that is true? And if not, how would you expect me to distinguish between the lies and what _might_ be the truth? The best way I know to do it is to just not believe any of it."

Missy sat silently through his tirade, waiting for him to finish. When it seemed like it was her turn to respond, the first thing she asked was, "This was all last night, right? You didn't hear any talk this morning?" He shook his head, which brought Missy relief to verify that the guild seemed to have dropped the subject from the previous day. Then she took a deep breath.

"You're right."

"Excuse me?"

Her brain had finally won. "I'm not going to discuss her life with you, especially since I know so little about it myself. The best thing would actually be for you to find out from her yourself, if you are interested in knowing."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Sinden wanted to know.

"Well, it's not like she's disappearing somewhere."

"No?"

"I'm sure that once Remiel returns, he can tell you where to go to visit her."

"I would appreciate that," he said, much calmer than when he'd entered. He left without another word.


	18. Chapter 17

It was not until two years after Natos defected from his guild that the Class of Morano leader had his first solid lead on the young man's location. Rais met the man who claimed to have this knowledge in the Morroc pub.

"How did you come by this information?" asked the lanky, black-haired assassin. "If this Umbala is as secluded as you say it is, how did you find him there?"

"I'm a good listener," the man on the other side of the table from Rais answered him.

Rais glanced at the large, armored man sitting next to him; the knight only stared at him blankly. They both looked back to Shimon, across the table, who began explaining immediately.

"In the year since the com-disc was invented, it has become a very wide-spread source of communication."

Rais's eyes widened as he began to understand the "good listener" remark.

"It wasn't easy, mind you," Shimon continued. "I had to pay a lot of money to a lot of different people to get my hands on the design of the device, as well as the science and magic that make it work. But it was well worth the effort. You won't believe the information I have been able to glean for people who are willing to pay my price."

"You overheard a com-disc conversation in which someone stated that Natos was in Umbala?" It was more of a statement than a question. Rais needed to make sure he understood what the man was saying.

Shimon shook his head with a smile. "I have heard Natos _himself_ talking, and, over numerous conversations, I have pieced together the comments he's made about his home."

"Talking to whom?" the assassin wanted to know.

"Unfortunately, I don't know that part. They don't use their real names; even Natos's name has never actually been spoken in these conversations. His com-disc is attuned to the name 'Tiresias.'"

"Then how do you know—?"

Shimon held up his hand. "Please, do not make me go over the details; just trust me when I say that I took great care in verifying the identity of your traitor."

Rais nodded slowly. "Then I know you will understand when I hold off on your payment until I have confirmed that this man in Umbala is our son."

Shimon said nothing. He wasn't very worried, because he was certain that "Tiresias" was Natos Morano. However, he was a little worried that Rais wouldn't follow through with any payment.

Rais looked again at the muscle sitting beside him before saying, "Come to think of it, I don't think we'll be paying you for this information at all."

Shimon's face lost its confident smirk. He contemplated reaching for his weapon, but knew that if their intention was to kill him, he'd be dead before he could swing.

"I'm going to give you a permanent job," Rais explained. He made it clear that it was not a request, and certainly didn't give the man a chance to accept or reject the statement. He turned to Drune and said, "Let's get back; we have work to do."

* * *

Three weeks later, the situation had not been resolved. Rais was growing impatient, Shimon had begun to worry about his safety, and Acronis was just bored.

Natos's brother and old roommate had been asked to suspend his work for the guild to help in the attempt to identify "Tiresias." The plan was simple enough—listen in on Tiresias's com-disc until he used it. Then Acronis could decide if the voice belonged to Natos or not. Shimon had warned his new boss that it could be several months before the link was activated again. Rais understood that and accepted it…at first. In the time since then, he'd begun to grow tired of waiting.

For three weeks, Shimon and Acronis had sat in the small office that Rais had appointed to his newest employee. They both listened to the com-disc, waiting for Tiresias to speak; their meals were brought to them there, and they took turns sleeping.

Rais also waited, though he had other matters to attend to as well. He wanted to know the moment they knew, and while they already had orders to contact him on his own com-disc with any news, the longer he waited, the more often he stopped by.

After those three weeks, Rais's second-in-command, Drune, found his boss standing at the doorway to the small room, watching the two men play cards to pass the time.

"Do you plan to send Acronis to Umbala, if the man is indeed Natos?" Drune inquired.

Rais shook his head. After Acronis failed to kill Natos two years before, he had been given one final chance to prove his capability and his loyalty to Morano. That test he had passed. In the time since then, he fell in with the rest of the average members of the guild. He did not stick out as any faster, stronger, or smarter than anyone else; he performed his tasks as required, with nothing special thrown in.

"No," Rais mused, "there is only one person I would trust with a job as crucial as this."

Drune didn't even have to ask—she was his daughter, after all.

Ever since she heard that they might have Natos's whereabouts soon, Rusalki had stopped by the small room every day as well. She did not want to risk her father giving the job away again. Her desire to be the one to kill Natos was stronger than anyone realized

Two more weeks passed. Rais and Rusalki were both in the guild leader's office, welcoming the guild's newest full member. Once Rusalki's part in the induction was over, as her father was giving the young man his first job, she slipped out and headed down the hall. As usual, she stopped to look in on Shimon and Acronis. She almost felt sorry for the two men, sitting in that room day after day. What a tedious life it must be.

She stared at Acronis for a few extra minutes. Maybe she didn't feel quite so sorry for that one. If he had done his job in the first place and killed Natos two years ago, he wouldn't be in this situation now. It was his own fault.

As she watched, both men's eyes lit up and they stared at each other. There was activity on the link. A man was talking! Acronis barely even heard a word that was said, and he certainly wasn't paying attention to the conversation. Only one thing mattered.

"It's him," he said breathlessly.

"What?" Rusalki called from the doorway.

Acronis turned and look at her. "It's him," he repeated, louder this time.

Rusalki smiled, a perverted grin of satisfaction. It was all she could do to keep herself from running down the hall and knocking her father's door down. She did hurry, though, and did not wait for his meeting with the initiate to be over. She knocked quickly and opened the door without waiting for a response.

The look on Rais's face told her to speak fast and explain her intrusion.

"I am going to Umbala," she said, conveying her anticipation with every word. She'd decided not to take the chance of him choosing someone else for the mission, and to simply assign herself to it.

Rais understood immediately, and his smile mirrored hers. Neither had any doubt that Natos would pay for his betrayal very soon.

* * *

Rusalki had no illusions about the upcoming fight. When forced to admit it to herself, she knew Natos could have beaten her. He was one of the few she'd tested who had come dangerously close to killing her. But he'd hesitated, which of course, she'd taken full advantage of.

She wasn't stupid enough to assume that he would hesitate a second time.

Natos knew they would locate him, and he knew they would only entrust the task to her. He had been expecting it, anticipating it, dreading it—most of all, preparing for it. Rusalki had always used the wind to her advantage, and her furtiveness was incomparable. Therefore, in the two years he'd spent in Umbala, he'd acquainted himself with the wind. The sound it made as it wound its way through the treetops, whether a gentle breeze or a fierce gust. He'd spent hours just sitting in silence, learning its nuances.

When she found him, he was returning to the village with some sort of animal carcass slung over his shoulders. The informant had said that Natos had found a place among the Utan tribe. They let him live amongst them in secrecy, and in return, he helped them protect their village from any attackers, be they human or beast. Apparently, he also hunted food for them. Idly, she wondered how many people in the world would give up the future he had with the guild for such a simple life as this.

She watched him for days, waiting for the perfect moment. There was no way he could have known she was there, because she kept her distance. She didn't want to risk getting too close until he was alone and, hopefully, distracted.

Her time came when one of the natives was attacked by a wootan shooter. Natos and a few other tribesmen were there to help him quickly. Once the monster was dead, they helped the injured man back to the village for healing. Natos stayed behind.

Rusalki made her move.

If by some chance he sensed her presence, he would expect an attack from behind. Instead, she approached him directly. Her weapons were drawn already, so as not to alert him with the sound. Recalling his skillful fighting last time, she knew her best chance lay in a swift kill.

A second too late, she noticed his eyes. They were closed; he was listening, concentrating.

He'd heard her, somehow.

A breath away from plunging her katar into his heart, she felt a searing pain rip through her side as his dagger swung out wide to his left. He'd clearly been guessing at her precise location, or she would have been dead.

She still intended to finish him with one thrust, but the distance between them grew as her legs stumbled backwards with the force of the strike. At least the wound was shallow, and she could easily ignore the pain. However, now she was visible and vulnerable.

She braced herself for the follow-up blow that didn't come. He'd disappeared. That would be another difference in this fight from the previous. She wasn't the only one who could take advantage of being invisible.

The majority of her fights the last few years were with newly changed assassins, who were still unable to move at all while hiding. This would be a challenge, and she would relish every second of it.

There was just one problem. Natos didn't seem to be there anymore. She listened intently, moving around slowly. The only sounds she heard were those made by her, and none of the foliage around her appeared to be disturbed.

Natos must have turned into even more of a coward since he'd abandoned the Class of Morano. She wouldn't assume that he had fled just yet though. He may just be hiding, waiting for her to turn her back. She considered cloaking herself again, but she knew that if he hadn't already run away, he would if she disappeared.

A sudden sound behind her caused her to spin around, katars at the ready. A horn shuffled by her feet innocuously. Her attention now distracted, she realized this would be the perfect time for her opponent to attack. No attack came.

After a few more tense minutes of waiting, Rusalki almost chuckled to herself. She wasn't surprised he would take the coward's way out.

She turned her com-disc to the direct link and said, "Tiresias." As soon as she heard the beep that confirmed connection, she addressed the other assassin.

"Where have you gone, Natos," she asked mockingly. She didn't expect him to respond, but he did.

"I'm not going to fight you, Rusalki. Please just go now." He knew she wouldn't give up—not this assassin. And even though he'd known this day would come, he still didn't know what he was going to do. Run away? Was there anywhere more remote than Umbala? As it turned out, he couldn't run this time.

"It won't work," Rusalki told him. "I am not Acronis, and you _will_ face me." She paused for a few seconds before adding, "Or I will slaughter everyone in that village that's been harboring you."

She waited a minute. Two. Three. She was about to start towards the village when she heard her name called softly behind her. She turned quickly, automatically drawing her katars. His hands were empty, but she knew he wasn't stupid enough to be unarmed. So much for the quick kill. She moved toward him slowly, and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Rusalki, p—"

No more wasted time. She headed straight toward him.


	19. Chapter 18

Remiel, Varin, and Karina sat in the front pew of the church while Pastor Emrys contacted some friends in his office. They sat in silence for ten minutes before Karina spoke.

"I can't believe you brought me to a church."

The high priest and monk exchanged puzzled looks; the latter shrugged.

Remiel asked, "Does it bother you to be here?"

Karina looked at him sharply.

"No, of course not. It's not like I deserve to be turned into unrighteous ash just for sitting here."

Varin raised his eyebrows at her vehement words. Remiel sighed and ran his hands through his blonde hair.

"I'm sorry," Karina said softly. "I know you are just trying to help, but I don't belong here. I don't deserve to be helped by a…pastor."

"Why do you think that?" Remiel wanted to know.

Karina scoffed at the question. "You couldn't understand. You have a wife who actually loves you, a guild full of friends who seem to care about you, and you're a priest. Your life is great, you're probably completely sinless, and I'm sure you don't have many reasons to be unhappy." She raised her handicapped left arm to make her point.

"You think I do not know what it's like to be taken away from your family, to feel like you have no home at all, and to be forced to create a new life for yourself?"

She said nothing, but she knew he was going to try to convince her that he could understand her suffering.

"Maybe you are right," he said.

She looked at him with a furrowed brow. That was not what he was supposed to say.

"I am happy with my life now. I have a wonderful family and close friends; I have nothing to complain about. But you were wrong when you said I could not understand."

Karina laughed derisively. "I'm sure I was."

Remiel looked at the monk sitting next to him. Varin shook his head; he knew what his friend was thinking. It would be unwise to share the details of his past with a woman he had only known for three days.

Remiel understood, but he felt the he had to tell her something. He would simply not reveal anything specific.

"Karina, I was once in a similar position to you right now. I sat in this very church, hanging between an old life and a new life, and I didn't like it any better than you do. You don't have to believe me, but I do have some idea of what you're going through."

She crossed her arms, but remained silent.

"I even did something that I'm not proud of. It still haunts me today. It took me a few years, but I have come to accept what I did; I have found forgiveness, and do you know who helped me with that?"

"Could it be the old man in the office?" Karina asked in a mocking tone.

"No, it's not Pastor Lede, but it is someone he introduced me to."

Karina stood up swiftly and took two large steps away from the pew.

"I should have known." She spun to face the two men on the bench. "I don't know what I expected from a priest. Is this going to be a stipulation of the pastor finding me somewhere to live? Do I have to agree to be 'religious' or something?"

Remiel raised his hands apologetically. "No, Pastor Lede is going to help you because that's what he does. I am merely trying to explain that you are no less worthy of help than anyone else."

"Right," she muttered. "Because you did something _so terrible_ that somehow compares with years of ad—"

"I killed someone," Remiel interrupted her before she revealed more now than she had wanted to before.

Karina looked at him with disbelief as her mind processed his words.

"You killed someone. You—a priest."

"I wasn't always a priest," Remiel said quietly as he stood up. "In fact, I have never been a priest. I am a _high_ priest now, but before that—"

He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't," Varin, who had stood up with him, warned. "You have already said too much."

It was enough anyway. Karina had no more argument to give. She walked to the far end of the front pew and sat down heavily. She began to chew on a fingernail on her right hand as she contemplated his words.

Despite her posturing, it did not matter much what they wanted her to do in return for their help. She was in a new town, with new people who probably didn't know who she was. If she left the church now, Morroc would turn into Al de Baran in time. She couldn't bear to go back.

* * *

Hours later, Remiel and Varin stepped out into the warm evening air. The sun was just beginning its descent into the horizon.

"What do you think?" Varin asked.

"I think that Pastor Emrys will take good care of her. I also think that if we ever see Karina Eniola again, she will likely be quite different. She has a chance to step out from the shadow of her past; not a lot of people are so lucky."

"No," Varin agreed quietly, "not many are."

Suddenly, the hair on the back of Remiel's neck bristled. Something was not right. There was the faintest smell of dead animal. It had been a long time, but he strained to hear a familiar sound in the wind.

Varin noticed his friend's attentive posture.

"Remiel? Is something wrong?"

In a voice just above a whisper, the high priest instructed, "Go back into the church. Make sure Karina and the pastor are safe."

The monk did not question Remiel's odd behavior, hurrying back into the building they'd just left. Remiel closed his eyes, frighteningly aware of how much danger he was probably in right now. He concentrated and thought through what he knew.

The wind was blowing west to east. He knew the assailant had come from the west, because he had smelled him. But now, the smell was gone. Therefore, that nearly imperceptible gust of wind at his back was—

He fell forward quickly, rolling once, before turning around in a crouch, quickly casting _Ruwach_ with a whisper. The bright blue light raced in a circle around him, and there she was—the last person he had ever expected to see again—with a katar where his heart had just been. His mouth went completely dry, and he felt the blood drain from his face.

"_Rusalki_?"

There was no storm here, and the moon was full and bright. There was no mistaking her, but he had a difficult time not doubting his own eyes. She was dead; he had killed her himself, and he knew that her guild could not possibly have had her body back in time to resurrect her. Yet there she stood.

She did not immediately move, or even re-cloak herself. She was caught off-guard, the slightest bit, by his recognition of her. She stared at him with her head cocked to the side, and he stared back. When she suddenly recognized him, her body flew into a rage before she even had time to fully process it.

She covered the distance between them in a second, and aimed a katar at his neck. The speed with which she moved astounded Remiel, but fortunately, she had also underestimated him. Her weapon—along with the rest of her—bounced off an invisible barrier, and she was sent flying backwards.

"Natos!" she hissed. "What the devil is this?"

He could not answer her. His mind was so busy trying to work out what he was seeing that half of him was convinced that he was imagining this. The fact that she was here, yet clearly not looking for him, meant something, he just could not work it out.

"What have you done to yourself?"

Every word she spoke was hollow and harsh. Her voice sent shivers down Remiel's spine. Any second now, she would disappear again. Suddenly he didn't know if he could beat her again.

Rusalki had already given up on cloaking, though, because it had never helped her against this man. Normally she would think that she had an advantage here, being better in every way than she was the last time they fought. And he knew nothing about it. However, he was different himself, and it was in the way he had blocked her first attack, not his unfamiliar clothing, that she picked up on it. Now she was just waiting.

Remiel was still struggling with what was in front of him. She looked different, too. It had been six years since he'd last seen her, but he could see that those six years had not been good to her. She was pale and gaunt, as if she had been locked in a room for months with no food. The most striking difference was her hair. What had once been black had, like his, apparently reverted to its true color. It was crimson now.

It struck him then that she was still standing there. She hadn't tried attacking again; she hadn't even moved. His _Kyrie Eleison_ had not run out yet, but he recast it quickly out of sheer dread. Somehow, though, he knew that it would not protect him for long. She was staring at him, as if she was somehow calculating a way to get past the shield.

"Rusalki," he finally found his voice. "What did they do to you?"

A sadistic smile slowly spread across her ghastly face. "Oh, Natos. Do you deny your part in this? My higher state would not be possible if not for the gift you gave me. My father merely took the next step."

Remiel blanched. Her death, at his hands, had done this to her? Then that would mean… "You _are_ dead."

"Oh yes—though I have never felt more alive."

"I—" he began, stopping himself before apologizing. She would only mock him for that; she had already made it clear how pleased she was with her afterlife.

Rusalki was, however, not pleased with her life now at all. In the beginning, when the guild had first revived her—well, it would be a stretch to say she enjoyed her life. But for five years, she had had enjoyed the immense power that came with leading the Class of Morano. Of course, power that great tends to attract attention, and her guild certainly drew the interest of the rest of the country.

When the armies came and devastated the ranks she had worked so hard to build up, she was left with virtually nothing. To make matters worse, she had begun to feel some of the old humanity creep back into her. She did not know enough about the magic that had brought her back to know if it was just something one would expect eventually, or if it was because she had been spending so much time with the humans of her guild—killers and thieves or not, they had still been far more human than she was now.

Over the last year, Rusalki had been struggling to rebuild the Class of Morano, but she had found it nearly impossible to repair the damage. Most recently she had taken on a number of jobs herself, enough, at least, to satisfy her ever-present desire to cause pain and anguish. It was a lonely existence, and the fact that she _felt_ that loneliness so strongly only angered her more.

The man who had hired her for this job had promised her more than money. He wanted her to find the woman, as fast as possible, and kill her in as gruesome and characteristic a way as possible. He wanted the authorities to know without a doubt that the undead ex-leader of the extinct Class of Morano guild had killed her. They would assume it was a senseless killing, because, the last they knew, that was what Rusalki did now. If all went well, the man vowed that she would find more than her share of work with him.

However, when she had arrived in Al de Baran, she had been unable to find an appropriate time to attack. Then the high priest took the woman inside. Rusalki waited for him to do as the rest had done since she'd been there—use her, feed her, and expel her. However, it did not work that way this time.

Rusalki had then followed the woman to Greenwood Lake, where she waited impatiently for another chance. She had contacted the hiring man to inform him of the situation, and he had promised to find a way to have the woman driven out of the castle. When she saw the high priest, the woman, and a monk leave through a warp portal a few mornings later, she assumed it was the hiring man's doing.

Now, standing here facing the man who had once killed her, reborn into a new life himself, she felt the agony of her existence more than ever.

He did not say the words, but she could see what he was thinking. It was the same as what she had seen in his eyes as he killed her. In her infuriation, she could not hold herself back anymore. If that barrier was not down yet, she would find a way through it.


	20. Chapter 19

Missy had barely turned back to her potion mixing when she heard yelling over her com-disc. There were at least two voices talking at once. Amidst the jumble of words, she heard her name a few times, and distinctly caught, "Get out here!" once. It was enough to send her running out the door, almost running into Sinden, who had not walked far down the hall yet.

As she ran, she tried to get some answers.

"Guys!" she yelled into her com-disc. The link finally went quiet, and she asked, "What's going on? Where are you?"

She recognized the voice of Chadwick answering her questions. "Out front. There are some people out here asking for you. They say they are War of Emperium officials."

"One of them looks really ticked off too," came another voice from the mess. It was a woman named Lilya, who, despite being twenty-one years old, was only an archer. Lilya had not been around for the events of the last few days, but she had received an earful of information from her best friend Eilenam.

"Missy, you don't think they are here for…." Chad didn't finish his statement. She knew what he meant.

"I don't know, but don't jump to any conclusions yet," she warned them. "I'm on my way out, so just sit tight."

By the time the alchemist reached the front door of the castle, quite a crowd had gathered out on the front lawn. Half of the guild at the castle was already out there, and the rest were behind Missy, following her out.

She stepped out and saw two men on peco pecos and two men standing next to them. The mounted men she surmised to be guards from Payon, by the way they were dressed. One of the others she recognized as a War of Emperium official she had seen a few times in the past. The fourth man, who was in a knight's uniform, she did not recognize, but she could see what Lilya was talking about. He had an intense scowl on his bright red face.

Missy walked straight toward the men, calling, "Good morning, gentlemen. Is there something I can do for you?"

The official stepped closer, meeting her halfway. "Are you Missy Azrael, leader of the Collegato guild?"

"I am."

He held up a piece of paper containing a lot of words that Missy could not fully comprehend. Fortunately, he explained it for her.

"We have received a complaint against your guild. You are accused of allowing a non-guild member to stay in your castle."

The crowd of Collegato members around them began to murmur. Missy had not truly expected this to be about anything else, but hearing him say the words brought tears to her eyes.

The angry man behind the official rushed over and whispered something in his ear.

"A non-guild member and a non-_adventurer_," the official corrected himself.

Some of the murmurs became low mumbles over the guild link.

"How did they find out?"

"Who told them?"

The official continued speaking. "According to the War of Emperium rules, we are now obligated to search your castle."

"Good, let him look," Missy heard another whispered voice say.

"She's not here anymore; just play nice, and he'll be gone soon."

Missy, however, told the man, "There is no need to search, sir. She is not here anymore."

The guild link went silent as everyone had to question whether they heard her correctly or not.

"'Anymore?'" the official repeated. "Are you saying that you did have this woman staying with you though?"

"Yes, sir," Missy nodded. "She had nowhere to live, so we invited her to sleep here for two nights. She left this morning."

The official shook his head. "You have admitted to a violation of the War of Emperium rules, whether she is still here or not. I'm sorry, Ms. Azrael, but my duty here is to inform you that actions will be taken because of this breach."

"I understand," she said, struggling to keep her emotions in check. "What will happen now?"

"You are required to extricate yourself from Collegato fully and permanantly."

The members around them began to voice their opinions of that loudly.

"Or…or!" he yelled, trying to quiet them down. "Or you can all choose to abandon this castle, clear out completely, and not participate in War of Emperium for the next six game weekends."

The crowd went silent.

In a normal voice, he said, "Again, Ms. Azrael, I am very sorry for this. It sounds like the spirit of what you did was innocent, but you knew the rules."

"I know," she said quietly, wishing so badly that her husband was there. "How do I leave the guild?"

"Come with me," he said, turning to leave.

She moved to follow him, but was stopped by a yell behind her.

"Wait!" It was Jonathan. "This is crazy. Are we really just meant to accept this?"

Missy couldn't stop the tears that were falling from her eyes now. "You guys will have to pick a new leader. You can survive this; there are so many great people in this guild. I love all of you; I won't go far."

"Great people who will just stand here and let you go, over a building? It's just six weekends! So we take a break and are back to take the castle again, stronger than ever." He made his suggestion over the guild link on the com-disc, adding, "Besides, I, for one, only joined this guild because of Missy. If she has to leave, I'm going too."

Missy stared at Jonathan in shock. He winked at her, and she couldn't help but laugh through her tears. But still, she shook her head at him and shrugged as she began backing away.

The crowd around her was still silent, but another voice came across the com-disc.

"Wait, you are all really going to let this happen?" It was Drear. Though he had not been around for any of the recent events, he had heard his share of rumors from friends in the guild. Despite his reasons for avoiding the castle lately, he still cared about Collegato, and he cared about Missy.

"No, we're not, don't worry," Lilya assured him. She stood next to Jonathan and called to the official, "She's not leaving the guild. We will give up the castle."

The official raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure? It needs to be the decision of a majority of the guild."

Finally more of the guild members spoke up with their affirmations, a few more reluctant than others. When the official was satisfied at the result, he turned back to Missy.

"Your guild hereby has twenty-four hours to vacate the castle. You will be disqualified from the games for six weeks, and the War of Emperium ruling board will inform you when your punishment is over."

* * *

Back inside the church, Varin had instructed Pastor Emrys and Karina to go into the pastor's office. He shut the door and stood in front of it with a blue light of his own illuminating any intruders in the area. He waited a few minutes, mentally debating whether or not to go out and make sure Remiel was okay. Since the high priest had only asked him to make sure these two were safe, here he would stay.

Then, a commotion came over his com-disc, on the guild link. A few people were yelling at once, and calling for the guild leader. As the scene played out, from what he could hear of it, he began to wonder if Remiel was hearing any of it. Why hadn't he come back in yet?

He heard an animalistic wail outside of the church and jumped into action. He stuck his head in the door and asked Pastor Emrys to protect Karina. He was old, but Varin knew he had enough magical strength to do that. Then the monk rushed outside.

What he found was Remiel, pinned against a building across the street, by some sort of unusual-looking ghoul. He instinctively cast _Holy Light_ on it, which was at least enough to free his friend.

Remiel coughed as the ghoul turned to face its new attacker. Varin could see now that it was more than a common ghoul. It looked female, which was unusual for undead in the first place. What exactly she was, though, he could not tell. Immediately he began to summon the small, white spheres that gave him the power he needed for his strongest attacks.

"Stop!" Remiel shouted with a cough.

Varin did as his friend asked with only two spheres summoned. However, he did not remove his gaze from the undead creature, whose dark, hollow eyes were staring into his. It was unnerving.

Remiel was still struggling for breath. Rusalki was fast, strong, and amazingly resilient, and he had not fought much in the last six years. If it hadn't been for the time he'd once spent as an assassin, he would probably already be dead. He knew he was bleeding, wounded in more than one place, and that he should let Varin help him. But he didn't want to fight her.

He had seen her eyes up close, just now, when she had him pinned by his chest. They were full of pain and sadness. Despite her attempt earlier to show how happy she was with her current existence, he could tell differently. Knowing that he'd done this to her brought tears to his eyes.

"Rusalki," he called to her.

She turned away from the monk to look at him. All he could see in her eyes then was hatred. He stepped a few feet closer to her, but she began to move away from him, so he stopped.

"I wish I could have saved you before it was too late. There is nothing left to save now."

With that, he quickly pulled a blue gem out of his bag and crouched down, slamming the gem to the ground.

With one knee on the ground, Remiel could feel the healing power of his _Sanctuary_ mending his wounds. The wave of holy light that spread out around him reached Rusalki and had the opposite effect; her scream was ear wrenching. She immediately leapt out of the surge of magic, but was grabbed by the arm.

Varin ran into the _Sanctuary_ with the undead woman by the elbow. As soon as she was within the spell's reach, he absorbed one of his spirit spheres and rooted both of them where they were.

As soon as he saw what his friend had done, Remiel closed his eyes, knowing it was over. The dying wails of his old guild mate were so human now that his heart ached. He stayed on one knee with his eyes closed until Varin finally came to his side and nudged him, offering him a hand up.

"Please, stop!" they both heard from the direction of the church then.

Karina was running through the door, with Pastor Emrys right behind her. Emrys was trying to keep Karina from leaving, but she was determined to find out what was going on.

"Karina, what are you doing?" Remiel asked her, his voice hoarse. "It's not safe for you to be out here."

"It's not? Why? What happened?" she asked.

"That's a very good question," Varin looked at his friend curiously. "Did you call that creature Rusalki?"

"Yes, it was definitely her. And I am pretty sure she was actually after Karina."

"Me?" the older woman questioned in surprise. "Who was she?"

"Short answer—she is a killer-for-hire," Remiel sighed.

"_Was_," Varin corrected him. "Unless you expect her to come back."

The high priest shook his head. "Not this time."

"_This time_? How could that have even been her?"

"Let's just get Karina back inside, and I'll try to explain."

"Wait, no," the monk stopped him. "Did you not hear what has been going on, on the guild link?" He gestured to the disc on his sleeve.

Remiel shook his head. He vaguely remembered hearing some talking, but was not exactly paying attention.

"It sounds like Missy is in some trouble."

He was already reaching for another blue gem when he frantically asked, "What kind of trouble? Is she hurt?"

"No, but I think someone discovered our secret."

Both men glanced at Karina, who looked mortified.

"Come on then." Remiel quickly cast the _Warp Portal_. In his panic and haste, he didn't consider the possibility that Karina would jump in, but she did, following right behind Varin.

"Wait!" he cried, but it was too late. He stepped in quickly.

Pastor Emrys was left there now, a little confused, and completely alone.

"They'll be back," he told himself with amusement, and then turned and walked back into the church.


	21. Chapter 20

Early in the morning, Pastor Lede arrived at the church, carrying a book under one arm, and went inside. He was unaware of his young friend's recent discovery and altercation as he meandered leisurely to his office. He sat down at his desk and set the book on top. As he began to flip the pages, he heard a sound and froze. It came again—a soft, nasally sound, and it had definitely originated in the small room.

"Who's there?" he called quietly. There was no answer except for the same slight noise.

He stood up and moved closer to where it appeared to be coming from—the back corner. When he was a few feet away from the wall, he bumped into something he couldn't see. The minor collision produced a yelp from the invisible being, and Pastor Lede stepped back.

"Oh! I'm sorry," said a voice he recognized, but knew shouldn't be here. "I'm so sorry."

The young assassin appeared in front of the pastor, who didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

"Natos, my boy, how did you—"

"Don't!" Natos whispered urgently. "Not my name!" He hurried to the door and pulled it shut.

It was then that Pastor Lede noticed Natos's run-down appearance. His now long, blonde hair closely resembled a bird's nest, his eyes were blood-shot, and his clothes were covered in dried mud and blood.

"Are you hurt?" the pastor asked immediately.

"No, no, no," Natos moaned. "No, not me."

"Nat—" he caught himself. "Uhh…what happened?"

"They found me. They came after me."

And then it all made sense. Well, maybe not quite all of it.

"You always said they'd find you eventually," the pastor said. "You knew someone would come."

Natos nodded. "But I didn't know I would kill someone to save my own life."

"I see. Um…how…" He wasn't even sure what to say.

"She threatened the Utans. Said she'd kill them all if I ran away. I have no reason to believe she was bluffing."

He relayed the whole story, with as little detail as he could get away with, right up to the final, painful blow.

"When did this happen?" Pastor Lede questioned.

"Mmm, it was…yesterday—no, two days ago, I think."

"Ahh…"

Natos knew what was on his mind. "I tried that already."

"You tried to resurrect her?"

"I ran back to the village for one of the healers who lives there." He paused, glancing toward the door with worry. "When we got back, she wasn't where I'd left her. We had to search the jungle for her, and by the time we found her, it was too late. I don't know why she had to run off like that. I wouldn't have even thought she _could_ run off like that with the…"

He was on the verge of tears.

_What a long way he's come in the last few years_, Pastor Lede observed. _He may have been trained to kill, but he was definitely not born for that life._

"I'm sorry this had to happen. I truly am. But what could you have done differently? Let her kill the Utans? Or you?"

"Yes!" Natos burst out. "Instead of fighting, I should have offered myself to her, a sacrifice to save the Utans."

"Natos…" The pastor disregarded his young friend's previous warning this time.

"At least that way it would have all been over! No one knew about you or Lys. It would have ended with my death. Now here I am, putting you in danger again, with no clue of what to do next or where to go. Maybe I should just walk right into Morano and hand Rais my sword."

"Stop it!"

Natos, who had been pacing around agitatedly, stopped and looked at the pastor. He had never before heard the normally calm, cheerful man raise his voice like that. Still, Natos had more to say.

"I cannot just run away again. There would be no end, and I have no desire to live in constant fear of discovery. Besides, where could I go that would be more hidden than Umbala?"

"Don't run then," the older man suggested.

Natos sighed and opened his mouth to speak. The pastor stopped him.

"Consider this, my boy. You were safe for _two years_ because of a plan I came up with in a few hours. Now I have had those two years to think on a new plan, in case we needed it."

Natos raised his eyebrows with extreme curiosity, and Pastor Lede smiled.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. "I could go get some breakfast, bring it back here."

Natos wanted to say no, because he wanted to hear the man's plan. However, he was actually famished, and breakfast sounded too good to pass up.

"Yeah, I guess."

Over breakfast, Pastor Lede conveyed his idea to the young assassin, who listened with great interest and a little skepticism.

"Now obviously I haven't worked out all the details," the pastor said once he'd explained it all. "But now that you have the general idea, what do you think?"

Natos took his time answering, lingering over the last of his food.

"I think that if it's pulled off exactly right, it could work. But if one thing goes wrong—if _I_ screw up the slightest thing—I'll be right back where I started—or dead."

"It is risky. If you don't want to do it, I understand, but in two years, it's the best I've come up with."

"Oh, I understand. I don't see there being anything else either. I guess I will just have to make sure I don't screw up. There's one thing I need to do first though." He continued on to explain, after which Pastor Lede nodded solemnly.

"We need to start on this soon then. I'll go begin making preparations, and you—" He paused, thinking quickly. "You said Rusalki contacted you on your disc, the one we set to your father's name?"

Natos nodded.

"I'd say it's not safe to use then. Here, take mine." He pulled the small object off his sleeve and held it out to Natos. "Contact your aunt. Let her know we'll be coming to visit soon."

"We're going to Al de Baran? Why? Do you think that's such a good idea?"

"Like it or not, we need her to make this work. Just tell her, and I'll be back soon."

Natos spent the next two days in Morroc. He stayed in the church and slept in the office. Then he and Emrys Lede warped to Al de Baran, where they shared the plan with Lysandra. They spent a day at her house, working out the details. After that, it was back to Morroc; Natos hid away in the pastor's spare apartment while they waited for the time to come to execute their plan. When Lysandra told them the circumstances were right, they set to work.

That night, a few hours before dawn, Pastor Lede warped Natos and himself to Umbala, then back to Al de Baran. Once everything was ready, they waited for the sunrise.

* * *

Deep in the Sograt Desert, the Class of Morano guild was quiet. Save for those who were on guard duty, most of the campus was asleep. After a particularly dark night, the sun was just beginning to rise in the east. As the first rays of light brightened the sky, one of the guards at the west wall made an unusual discovery.

"Acronis," the younger guard, still a thief and junior member of the guild, whispered to the other. "There's someone coming."

"What?" Acronis asked with disbelief. "There can't be someone coming." He moved to stand next to the thief and looked in the direction he was pointing. "There's someone coming."

"Yeah. What do we do?"

Acronis didn't answer. He knew what to do; so did the kid. Why the guild leaders ever put junior members on guard duty, he'd never understand. They hadn't even been given the chance to prove they could do what needed to be done if anyone ever approached the campus. He guessed it was because it was extremely rare to see adventurers out this far. The guild had a number of security devices that included a spell cast by a wizard to prevent random teleports within a certain radius around the guild campus.

If someone was here now, it was deliberate, and most likely not on friendly terms. No one from the guild walked in—they always came by way of butterfly wing.

Acronis watched the visitor move slowly toward them, and soon he could make out the shape a little better. He or she was wearing a cloak with the hood pulled over his or her head. And he or she was carrying something large and heavy.

Now Acronis was very curious, though smart enough to still be cautious. With the sun to their own backs, this person, who Acronis presumed now to be a man, would be staring into it, and probably could not see them well.

"Step inside the wall," Acronis told his younger brother. "Get back there and hide. I want to see what this guy wants with us before we deal with him."

The thief did as he was told quickly. Acronis waited impatiently as the approaching man moved slowly through the sand, weighed down by his load. When the intruder was about twenty yards out, Acronis suddenly wondered if it could be Rusalki, returning with Natos's body. If she were to bring it back, she'd have to walk, wouldn't she?

She couldn't very well store it with the Kafra service, and he didn't know what laws dead bodies fell under in regards to butterfly wings or teleports. He'd have to remember to find out later. For the moment, there was something more important demanding his attention.

"Whoa there!" Acronis called out to the unknown person. "Why don't you just stop right there and identify yourself!"

The figure stopped and looked up sharply. Whoever it was recognized Acronis's voice. A desert gust caught the top of the now-raised hood, and part of the face beneath was revealed. Now Acronis knew who it was. Their eyes locked; one pair widened while the other pair narrowed. The visitor promptly dropped the bundle he was carrying and turned around, sprinting back in the direction he'd come.

Acronis shouted to the thief behind the wall, and they both ran after him.

"What's going on?" the thief called from behind his older brother.

"It's Natos!" the assassin yelled angrily. "That son of a…"

"What was he carrying?"

Acronis had just come to the now noticeably body-shaped bundle and ran around it. The thief followed suit.

"I can take a guess," Acronis mumbled, not caring to answer the question.

* * *

_A/N:_ _Two weeks...you would think that someone who was just posting chapters of a completed story wouldn't go so long between updates, but I keep losing track of what I'm doing here. All it takes is a review to snap me back though, so thanks for that. There are two chapters left after this one, and a short epilogue for wrap-up. I hope everyone who's been reading enjoys the rest of this story._


	22. Chapter 21

They followed Natos, cloak flapping behind him, hood now completely off, as he ran west. Acronis closed the distance slowly but steadily. The junior Class of Morano member fell back slowly but steadily. When Acronis was about ten feet behind Natos, he was sure he'd catch him. His legs were beginning to burn, and his breathing was ragged, but Natos had to be in the same shape. Acronis was gaining even still.

He almost tripped over the cloak that suddenly flew into his path. Natos had shed it in favor of more speed. Acronis glanced back at the kid behind him, who reached down to pick up the cloak on the way by, wadding it into a ball and stuffing it under his arm.

Acronis wouldn't waste his breath to tell him why it was stupid to weigh himself down with that thing. Instead he looked forward again to see that Natos had widened the gap between them. He swore under his breath and tried to gain speed, but felt like he was only losing it.

It was at this point that Acronis began to notice the scenery changing. The desert sand was spotted with patches of grass periodically. Somewhere ahead was the ocean. Since he never left the campus or returned to it by foot, like almost everyone else in the guild, he never knew how close it was to the ocean.

He began to panic. Was Natos running to the ocean because he had a boat waiting for a fast getaway? Somehow he had to catch up first. Unfortunately, they were running up the side of a dune then. "Trudging" was a better word, really, and he wasn't moving quickly. Neither was Natos anymore.

The assassin in the lead stumbled to the top of the dune and hesitated, looking around. Acronis thought he didn't like what he saw, and that gave him hope. Natos started down the other side before his pursuers reached the top, but they were not far behind.

Acronis stopped at the top only long enough to see where Natos was. He had descended the dune at an angle, and was now heading north, along the side of the dune. Ignoring the vast ocean that was now stretched out before him, Acronis followed his brother's trail in the sand, mostly sliding down until he hit the bottom. Then he took off running. He'd caught up considerably, and that realization had given him a second wind.

Behind him, the thief hadn't crested the dune yet. _He never should have picked up that cloak_, Acronis thought.

After another painful minute, Acronis was so close to Natos that he could hear the other man's ragged breathing, which matched his own. Natos took a sharp turn to the left, which Acronis copied. He had already watched the beach give way to rocks, then to a cliff face—which they were running along the top of—that grew drastically higher alongside them. If Natos was attempting to throw him off by moving closer to that cliff, it wasn't going to work.

He was so close now, if he could only just find a little bit of speed…

Natos tripped! It was a minor stumble, barely even noticeable, but Acronis was close enough to make it count. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of clothing, well aware that it might not be enough—but it was. Natos lost his balance completely and fell to the ground in a roll, barely avoiding falling off the cliff that he'd led them dangerously close to.

Acronis fell on top of the other assassin. He grabbed Natos's arms and pinned them to the ground, making sure that he couldn't reach for a fly wing. He knew that if Natos had something like a teleport clip, he could still get away, so he immediately searched for such an item. He found nothing.

He heard footsteps running up behind him, and turned his head to see the thief, still carrying the cloak.

"Check the pockets of that thing," Acronis instructed.

The thief complied, and pulled out a handful of fly wings, as well as some butterfly wings.

"Not too smart, throwing away your escape," Acronis sneered at Natos.

Natos said nothing. Acronis drew a dagger and held it above Natos's face.

"Goodbye, Brother," he said spitefully, and then pressed the dagger to his throat.

"Wait, Acronis, what are you doing?" the thief cried, rushing over and pulling Acronis's arm back.

"I'm following orders and killing the intruder," Acronis growled, twisting his arm away from the thief.

"This isn't just any intruder though. It's _Natos_."

"I know darn well who it is! That's just another reason to kill him."

The thief shook his head. "I don't think Rais would want him dead until he could find out what Natos knows about Rusalki."

"Are you stupid? He killed her! What do you think he was carrying back there?"

"We don't know that until we see what was in the bag," the thief argued. "Or ask him."

Acronis grunted in annoyance. "Like he's going to tell us the truth."

"Why don't you ask me?" Natos spoke for the first time, still lying under Acronis.

Acronis looked back at him sharply, but didn't ask him.

The thief stepped closer, and decided to ask the question himself. "Where is Rusalki?"

"I killed her," Natos stated plainly.

"See!" Acronis yelled at the boy. "He killed our guild leader's daughter. We would be heroes for killing him ourselves!"

Still the thief disagreed. "I think Rais will want to punish him himself. I say we take him back, and then if Rais wants him dead…." He couldn't quite bring himself to finish that statement.

"Forget it," Acronis said, turning back to Natos with his dagger raised.

The thief sighed in frustration and twisted the com-disc on his sleeve.

"Rais Morano," he said clearly.

"No!" Acronis shouted. He jumped off Natos and lunged at the boy, covering the com-disc on his sleeve to prevent him from saying anything to the guild leader. "We're not taking him back!"

"Get off me!" the thief cried, jerking away. He stumbled one step closer to the cliff edge.

Acronis saw his chance and took it. With a little help from him, the thief fell over the side of the cliff.

"Acronis!" Natos yelled, slowly struggling to his feet. His body was sore and tired, but he couldn't stay on the ground. "What have you done?"

"The same thing I'm going to do to you." He rushed back over to Natos and kicked him in the chest, knocking him back to the ground.

When Acronis approached him from the side, Natos swept his legs around, knocking his brother to the ground next to him. He couldn't let the other assassin get on top of him again, or his plan would fail. He coughed and rolled onto his chest, pushing himself up with his arms.

He was on his feet before Acronis, but he stood still with his arms to his sides, waiting.

Acronis rushed straight at him. Reacting quickly, Natos threw a handful of sand, which he'd picked up before he stood up, into his eyes.

Acronis screamed in pain, but didn't stop charging. He ran full-speed into Natos, who was thrown off-balance. Natos stumbled a few feet, glancing behind him to see the sheer drop. Despite his strong desire to throw himself to the ground, where it was safe, he let his body weight shift toward the cliff edge.

It was a truly terrifying experience, falling through the air. For the first few seconds, he couldn't think straight because of the gripping fear. Then he forced himself to focus, and remembered what he had to do. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was the young thief's body floating in the water far below him.

Back on the cliff, Acronis kept fighting, though he had no opponent. He only assumed that he had knocked Natos to the ground, and, without being able to see right away, he crouched low and swung his dagger out wide, hoping to deter any attacker. As his vision began to clear, he realized that he was facing the ledge, and that he would have pushed Natos that way when he rushed him.

He glanced around first, with narrowed eyes to see through the involuntary tears, to make sure that Natos hadn't simply tricked him, and wasn't waiting behind him to push him over. Seeing no one, he stepped carefully to the edge. It was difficult to get close enough to see all the way down, but he was certain he saw two bodies floating in the water. He watched for a few seconds to make sure neither was moving, and then he was satisfied that both Natos and the insolent thief were dead.

As he turned to walk back to the campus, he neglected to realize two things. One was that Natos had chosen to turn and flee, instead of using the pocketful of teleportation items in his cloak. And the second was that the cloak was no longer on top of the cliff with him; the thief had dragged it with him when he fell.

Had he taken note of these two facts, he might have had some reason to doubt that his brother really was dead. He might have realized that the second "body" he saw floating in the water was really the cloak. And he might not have told Rais that Natos had killed the junior guild member, and force Acronis to kill him as well.

Acronis never had been extremely bright. That, coupled with his intense hatred for his brother and old roommate, is what made him the perfect target for Emrys Lede's plan to fake Natos's death, and give him a new life.


	23. Chapter 22

Outside of Collegato's castle—or rather, what had been their castle until that day—the angry man's face had calmed down considerably. As soon as Haidar Eniola had found out about his wife's new lodging, he had brought the official there to put an end to it. Watching his ex-wife be thrown out on the street again would have been a pleasant experience. If she had left that morning, though, then perhaps his initial plan—the one that had been put on hold because of her acquaintance with the Kafra woman and her high priest nephew—perhaps it would have a chance to be carried out after all.

The official had a few more points to make before he was done.

"Understand too, that the next time you control a castle, you will probably have some surprise inspections."

Missy nodded, wiping the tears from her face.

"I will be back tomorrow at this time to make sure the evacuation is complete."

The official said goodbye to the alchemist, and all four men turned to leave. They were stopped once again, this time by the sudden arrival of three people.

Varin stood still, debating whether to stay and find out for sure what was going on, or to just go back inside, where it had to be quieter than out here. It was actually calm when they had first arrived, but seconds later, everything erupted.

Remiel rushed to his wife, who crumbled in his arms, despite her attempt at remaining strong.

Karina let out a terrified gasp upon seeing her ex-husband standing in front of her.

"Karina!" Haidar exclaimed as his face grew bright red again.

"Haidar!" she cried breathlessly. She moved backwards, away from him and towards the Collegato members behind her.

Remiel and Missy looked at the man in surprise. What was he doing here? How had he found out about her? And what was he going to do to her now?

Haidar was advancing on his ex-wife menacingly, but stopped a few yards away. He resisted the urge to look around for Rusalki. She must have missed another opportunity wherever Karina had just been. _What good is that woman if she cannot take out one lousy target with no combat training?_

"What are you doing here?" Karina asked in a trembling voice.

A new plan was already formulating in his head, and he did his best to morph his angry face to a calm and pitying one.

"I was looking for you, my dear."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. She was not going to buy this act easily.

"Why?"

"I acted irrationally; I am so sorry. When I heard that you had left town, I realized how much I miss you."

She backed away a few more feet, unwilling to accept his words. In her peripheral vision she could see that those she was moving towards were moving away from her. Whether it was because of her past or because of what she had just done to their guild, she did not know. Somehow, it didn't matter in the slightest.

Haidar saw what was happening as well, and knew it would work for his advantage. If she saw that no one else wanted her, she would come back to Al de Baran with him. Then he could contact Rusalki, and this time, he would make sure Karina was alone.

"Come back with me, please," he held his hand out to her. "We'll be remarried and start over. You'll see, things will be different this time."

"No, Haidar," she told him as firmly as she could. "Things _are _different. And if I came back with you, they would be the same again."

"Don't be ridiculous. What are you going to do, stay here? They don't want you! You are responsible for the mess they're in now."

"I know," she agreed. Looking to any members who would look her in the eye, she added, "And I am so sorry for that."

Remiel moved to step forward and dispute Haidar's assessment, but Missy held him back. She was impressed with the way Karina was standing up to her ex-husband, and didn't see a reason for Remiel to help just yet.

"But still," Karina continued, "our marriage is over, and I think it would be best for both of us to leave it that way."

"No!" Haidar said, swearing for emphasis. He was losing control of his anger, and he knew it wouldn't help his cause. "Karina, you are my wife; I don't care what some paper says. You need to come back to Al de Baran with me."

Karina was not even aware that someone had come to stand by her side until she heard, "How many ways does she have to say no to you? You're starting to look a little suspicious."

It was Sinden. He was standing there with his arms crossed, glaring at the knight.

"Stay out of this," Haidar growled. "This has nothing to do with you."

"It has as much to do with me as it does with you," Sinden argued. "Karina is my friend; you, on the other hand, she has no ties to. She doesn't even like _you_."

The tears that flowed down Karina's face now were joyful. Haidar looked at her again, adopting a horribly fake begging look.

Her laughter came out more mockingly than she'd meant it to when she told him, "Just go, Haidar."

He still made no movements to leave on his own, but was given no choice when one of the Payon guards pulled on his elbow.

"Let's go, sir," the guard said. "We're done here."

Haidar let himself be pulled away with only a little resistance. He still had the assassin. She had almost as much stock in this kill as he did; she would just have to continue stalking Karina. When he finally gave in and turned around, he saw the high priest talking quietly to the other guard, who was eyeing Haidar.

The knight wasted no time in retrieving a butterfly wing from his pocket and flipping it to the ground. The second guard immediately took off in the direction of Payon, calling for the other to come with him.

"What was that about?" Missy asked Remiel as he returned to her side.

"I merely informed him of my suspicions that Mr. Eniola was the one who sent the assassin after Karina."

"What assassin?" both Missy and Sinden asked at the same time that Karina gasped, "You think he'd do that?"

Remiel addressed the second question first. "His swift escape was pretty condemning, don't you think? Anyway, it's up to the authorities to work out now. I'm sure those guards have already contacted their counterparts in Al de Baran and are searching for him now."

"Remi," Missy took his arm. "You were attacked in Morroc?"

He nodded, looking into her eyes as he recalled the incident. "It was Rusalki."

"_What_?" Missy remembered what he had once told her about that woman—who she was, and more importantly, how she had died.

Varin shook his head, still unable to believe Remiel's identification of the attacker. He knew the story quite well himself, having been more directly involved. He hadn't recognized his sister from long ago, but he'd never actually met her. She had died before his turn for testing had come.

"I will tell you about it later," Remiel promised both of them. He glanced at the solemn faces around him. "Darling, what happened here?"

By now the official had gone, but he had already handed out his sentence anyway. Missy told him about the guild's expulsion and future disqualification as some of the guild members headed inside to gather up their belongings.

Remiel embraced his wife sympathetically. He knew this was a big blow for her, and the guild as a whole, but he could not help but be pleased that the others had made this choice over letting her step down as leader. Considering the recent events with Karina, it gave him a little hope for the guild. And still, he knew he was responsible for it, no matter what she said.

"Missy," they heard Karina's voice behind them.

Missy pulled away from him and looked at Karina. She wiped fresh tears away before saying, "Don't say what you're about to say."

Karina could only shake her head and say it anyway. "I'm sorry."

"Karina, if _nothing_ else, the fact that you were, in fact, attacked today means that Remiel was right in bringing you here. If you had stayed in Al de Baran, you would probably be dead by now." She glanced at Remiel when she added, "From what I have learned lately, that is what one might call divine intervention." Back to Karina now, she continued, "Collegato will be alright."

"Isn't this your home now though?" Karina asked mournfully. "Where will you go?"

"We have made it our home, but we always knew we could lose the castle during any War of Emperium weekend. We have contingencies in place for this situation. Some of the younger members have parents who they still technically live with. Some of the older members have homes of their own that have just been mostly vacant while we've been staying here.

"For anyone else, they have friends or family they can stay with, or other guild members will offer them a temporary home. And if all else fails, the guild treasury will support anyone who needs to take a room in an inn or pay rent on an apartment for now."

What Missy did not explain to her was that she knew the guild would lose a few members during the time they couldn't compete. Though the majority of her guild members were wonderful people, and would remain loyal, it was impossible to judge who might not remain during a low point like this. The way they had lost their castle, not in a normal game, but due to circumstances brought on by the leaders themselves, would only make those people less inclined to stick it out.

That was okay, though. The ones who would stay were the important ones, and the guild would only become stronger for it.

"I suppose you should get Karina back to Morroc," Missy suggested.

"Yeah," Remiel agreed reluctantly. He really did not want to leave his wife right now.

"I'll take her," Varin volunteered.

"Are you sure?"

The monk nodded. "I don't have much to pack anyway."

"I'll go with you," Sinden offered. "I don't have anything to pack. Besides, it might still be dangerous."

Remiel and Missy exchanged a glance; the old assassin was very transparent.

They said goodbye to those departing. Looking around her now, Missy noticed there were a still a few people standing outside with them—Jonathan and his wife Larxis, Lilya, Miguel, Luonnotar, and Kaelis.

"Come on, let's get this over with." She headed in, stopping to thank Jonathan and Lilya, giving the former a quick hug. The rest of Collegato trailed into the castle behind her.


	24. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

* * *

Natos Morano changed his name to Remiel Azrael soon after his encounter with Acronis, taking the last name of the parents he had never met. He was happy to take advantage of the new chance at life he had.

With the help of Pastor Lede, who still had authority to officially accept new members into the acolyte and priest guilds, he had become a high priest of Prontera. That change was made before he ventured back to the guild campus for the showdown with Acronis.

The high priest title had not been bestowed upon anyone in decades. It meant more power, as well as more responsibility. It was the only choice Pastor Lede had, as Remiel was already an assassin when he transferred to the priest guild. One could not change classes at the same level; one could only advance. Advancing to a class that was not directly in line with the previous class had never been done, but it was possible.

Unfortunately, he had only had time to learn one skill before executing the pastor's plan with Acronis in the desert. The ability to teleport had been crucial—it was the only way he could escape his death, while leading his pursuer to believe that he had no means of escape. After Acronis had killed the thief, though, Remiel had wished he'd learned more. Back at his aunt's house in Al de Baran, where he arrived immediately upon leaving the desert, he pleaded with Pastor Lede.

Despite the danger involved, Pastor Lede, a very skilled priest, went to the desert himself, and brought back a wet, disheveled boy.

That boy, Thulan Morano, had a much harder time adjusting to his new life. He had not come upon it by choice, as his brother had. It had been thrust upon him, beginning with his death and resurrection.

He had only been a junior Class of Morano member, so his mind had not yet been fully corrupted. However, he did not immediately understand why he could not go back to his family. Remiel agonized over their choice to keep him hidden away. He felt as though they had kidnapped him and were holding him against his will. He knew, though, that sending him back would likely mean death for both of them.

Under Pastor Lede's teaching, Thulan began to learn about God. He attended classes with the acolytes, priests, and monks who had come to seek out the pastor's wisdom. In time, he changed in many ways—his mind and heart, his class, and his name.

Like Remiel, he wished to be something other than what the Class of Morano had forced onto him. When given a choice of classes to advance to, he chose to become a monk. Then, he finally shed the name Thulan Morano and became Varin Bakar.

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
